1.4 million euro lawsuit filed against companies over supermarket collapse disaster

  • 2013-11-29
  • From wire reports, RIGA

A 1.4 million euro (1 million lats) lawsuit has been filed  against Maxima Latvija, construction company Re&Re, Tineo the owner of the collapsed "Maxima" supermarket building in Riga's Zolitude, real estate developer Homburg Zolitude and Riga City Council.

Attorneys at law Aldis Gobzels and Aldis Alliks said that the Riga Regional Court had also been asked to arrest the movable and immovable property of the defendants, except the Riga City Council, in order to secure the claim. The relevant documents were also submitted to the Prosecutor General's Office this morning, added Alliks.

The attorneys, representing the "Don't Be Indifferent, Be Responsible!" campaign said that they could not disclose the data on the claimants. 

The attorneys added that this would not be the only lawsuit and more would follow. The total amount of lawsuits against the companies could amount to could even exceed 1 billion lats.

The attorneys stressed that in this case they would not seek remuneration for their work

"In this case, those who are responsible for the tragedy, including high-ranking officials, will not be able to evade responsibility. If the police and the Prosecutor General's Office do not act swiftly, we will do everything in our power so that officials who try to impede the process are called to account, too," explained Gobzems.

The attorneys previously said in a statement to the media that swift action was necessary to protect the families of the victims of Zolitude tragedy and those injured, before the companies and legal entities responsible for it fold or transfer their properties to other legal entities.

Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis announced on Nov. 27 that he would step down, taking political responsibility for the Zolitude disaster, which left 54 people dead and dozens injured.

Maxima Latvija head Gintaras ?? was fired on Nov. 28 over controverisal comments. Maxima Latvia , meanwhile, has agreed to pay compensation for victims of the tragedies.

A police investigation is currently ongoing into the cause of the collapse.