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Leopoldo Cabeza Miranda vs Alberta Energy LTA

Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Feb 19, 2008
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
Supreme Court
Seat of court
Quito
Judge
Carlos Ramírez Romero; Freddy Ordóñez Bermeo; Rigoberto Barrera Carrasco
Reference number
356-2007
Language
Spanish
Subject
Environment gen.
Keyword
Liability/compensation Private forest Oil pollution Property rights Mining Private land Resource/damage valuation Ownership
Abstract

In this case, the plaintiff sued an energy company for the damages on its land lot caused by the operations of extraction of hydrocarbon conducted by the defendant.

The defendant has been condemned by the court of first instance to pay some compensation measures to the plaintiff as indemnities for the prejudices resulting from the pollution of its lands. The decision of first instance has been upheld by the Superior Court of Justice of Nueva Loja acting as an appeal chamber.

The defendant contested the decision of the Superior Court of Justice of Nueva Loja in front of the Supreme Court. The appeal was based on the fact that the defendant pretended that the plaintiff could not prove that the infraction- in this case, the pollution- took place and that there were not enough evidence to establish a causality link between its activities and the damages. The Supreme Court considered did not follow the argumentation of the defendant and upheld the decision of the Superior Court of Justice of Nueva Loja has it considered that the evidences provided by the claimant were enough to establish the causality link and to condemn the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for its prejudice.

Full text
Leopoldo Cabeza Miranda vs Alberta Energy LTA.pdf
Website
www.cortenacional.gob.ec