The plaintiffs believe that the Norwegian aluminum giant is guilty of polluting the environment of thousands of people living near one of the company’s refineries in the Brazilian state of Pará, writes Finansavisen. The Cainquiama organization, which is implicated in the lawsuit, represents the interests of several thousand people in Pará.
Hydro has a presence in the region for 40 years, controlling two Brazilian companies and operating one of the largest alumina refineries in the world.
The lawsuit in the Netherlands comes with a similar case being filed in Brazil. There, no final conclusion was reached as to whether Hydro could be held liable.
Precisely Brazil’s shipping law is one of the reasons why the plaintiffs are trying their hand in the Netherlands. Hydro has several subsidiaries in the country, and the law allows them to be sued for conditions the group may be liable for in Brazil.
Hydro’s lawyers believe that the case in the Netherlands should be dismissed or postponed because it concerns a similar claim that is being processed in Brazil. A Dutch court has concluded that there is no need to wait for a conclusion from the Brazilian side, and thus the case can be processed in Rotterdam.
– It was a purely procedural decision, which we paid attention to. We will now follow further legal proceedings and, among other things, submit our comments to the courts, director of information Halvor Molland at Norsk Hydro told Finansavisen.
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