The neighbors and merchants affected by the sinkhole caused by the L9 metro works in the Sant Gervasi neighborhood of Barcelona are preparing an administrative lawsuit against the Generalitat, responsible for the works. Just as this Monday marks two months since the hole caused by the tunnel boring machine, the return of three of the affected buildings is being delayed and the neighbors have decided to file a lawsuit and have turned to one of the lawyers who, 20 years ago, represented neighbors and merchants affected by the El Carmel sinkhole, Carmen Pérez Pozo-Toledano. The magnitude of that hole, the number of evacuated neighbors, and the months it took for them to return was much greater than in the case of the upper area of the city, and back then the families managed to be compensated with up to 15,000 euros for moral damages. Now, at least 70 neighbors and merchants will file a collective lawsuit (90% of those affected and cases are still being added, the lawyer quantifies) in which they will claim moral, but also material and economic damages.
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“It is an administrative liability claim against the Department of Territory of the Generalitat, and it will be filed this week. It is undetermined because affected parties are still being added, we continue making visits. But it is already drafted, based on ‘culpa in vigilando’ (fault in supervision), when you commission a project you have to supervise,” argues the lawyer, CEO of the Pérez Pozo-Toledano law firm. If necessary, those who will ultimately have to pay compensation will be the insurers of the company carrying out the works. Pérez Pozo-Toledano specifies that moral damages will depend on the circumstances of each family or business and how long it takes them to return, as well as their circumstances. It is not the same to have a 200-square-meter apartment and be in a hotel room, as not being able to telework, or not being able to see grandchildren or falling ill, are examples of cases.
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For now, the most affected are the neighbors of three buildings who will not be able to return, at the earliest, until the beginning of the year. Among them is Miren Atela, president of the community of the building in the worst condition, on Teodora Lamadrid street, a block that has been found to have structural damage. Atela recalls, in light of the announcement that they will be able to return at the beginning of January, that “one thing is when you can return and another is when you actually live again,” and cites cases of neighbors of buildings that are already habitable but who remain in hotels out of fear, because of the noise of the machinery that continues injecting concrete or because of the dust.” “One thing is to be able to return, then come the renovations,” the neighbor points out.
