Lawyer for victims of heating main rupture at Ocean Plaza: prospects for litigation are most positive

Who will be responsible for the accident and compensate the victims for damages? Answers lawyer Maksym Koval.

On January 13, in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, near the Ocean Plaza shopping center, a massive heating main rupture occurred.

It looked like scenes from an apocalypse movie: hot water flooded the shopping center, asphalt collapsed under a minibus, cars in the parking lot were submerged, and people had to evacuate the mall breaking windows to escape the scalding water. 

At least 10 people are known to have suffered burns: three of them received assistance on the spot, and seven were taken to hospital. The State Emergency Service said six people had to be carried out in their arms. 

Initially, police classified the case under Part 1 of Article 270 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Intentional destruction or damage of housing and utilities facilities”), but later the prosecutor’s office changed the classification to Part 1 of Article 275 (“Violation of rules on the safe use of industrial products or safe operation of buildings and structures”).

Besides physical injuries, dozens of people suffered financial losses: both the shopping center and the businesses renting premises, as well as people whose cars were flooded in the parking lot. On the very first night, lawyers began coordinating assistance to the victims and preparing lawsuits to recover damages. A post by Vladyslav Belotskyi, partner at the law firm Berylstone, calling for this garnered hundreds of reposts on Facebook.

TK Media spoke with Maksym Koval, a lawyer at the law firm Berylstone, which represents the victims of the heating main rupture at the Ocean Plaza shopping center. 

— Who will be responsible for this accident?

— For now this question remains open, since the investigation by law enforcement is ongoing, as well as by the municipal enterprise Kyivteploenergo, which operates the heating networks.

Nevertheless, the municipal enterprise Kyivteploenergo is the entity that “a priori” bears responsibility for operating, diagnosing and maintaining the proper condition of heating mains in the city of Kyiv. Thus, for now, most questions are directed at Kyivteploenergo.

— What scale of damage can be discussed today?

— The scale of damage varies for each victim. For some it is a few tens of thousands of hryvnias, for others it is millions of hryvnias. In any case, the amount of damage for each party will be determined and documented individually. As for the total amount of material losses, they amount to at least tens of millions of hryvnias.

— What are the prospects of the court process?

— The prospects of the court proceedings are fairly positive. But in any case, the success of these proceedings will depend on factors such as the quality of recording the material losses incurred, the correctly chosen legal position of the plaintiff, and the results of a forensic examination, which will establish the existence of a causal link between the actions/inaction of the defendant and the losses suffered by the victim. Such proceedings are expected to last about a year. If either party files an appeal or cassation, the process could drag on for another year to a year and a half.

 — Given the large number of victims, will there be a series of individual lawsuits and many court cases, or perhaps a collective lawsuit and a single case?

— Most likely, there will be separate individual lawsuits and, accordingly, — separate court cases. This is because each case is individual, with many specific features. Moreover, each person is able to bear a different amount of court costs. Nevertheless, we will petition the court to consolidate these lawsuits and proceedings for the convenience of hearing the case.

— Kyivteploenergo is a municipal enterprise. If the lawsuits are satisfied, will the city (taxpayers) compensate the damage?

— Yes. If the claims are satisfied, in effect the costs of compensating the damage will be borne by taxpayers, who are the source of replenishment of the city budget.

— Will utility workers face criminal liability? At least ten victims are known, and 7 people are in hospital.

— Whether representatives of the municipal enterprise will actually be brought to criminal liability will depend on the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies. This issue falls within their competence and responsibility.

In my personal opinion, there are signs of a criminal offense in this case. Under these circumstances, law enforcement must study the job descriptions of persons working at the municipal enterprise, and also determine whether these instructions were violated, who committed the violations, and whether there is a causal link between these factors and the losses/harm caused to people. On this basis, law enforcement agencies will determine whether the elements of a crime are present. If so, the relevant persons at the municipal enterprise will be held criminally liable. But again, everything will depend on the investigation.

— How many clients do you already represent in this case?

— So far, three potential clients have contacted us. Our relationship is at the consultation stage. Further progress on this matter will proceed in stages, and the next stage will be collecting evidence.