In this case, the defendant is accused by the environmental services of the city of Monaco of polluting the waters of the port of Condamine and the river Sainte Devote. The investigations showed that the pollution was resulting from the fact that the defendant’s centrifugal decanter, which was part of a piercing system used to dig a connecting tunnel upstream, was leaking into the river.
The environmental services of the city, acting as a plaintiff, sued the director of the company conducting the construction work on the basis that if the company has been allowed to dump some of its wastewaters in the river, the pollution had to be limited. In this case, the environmental services noted that the water became white, and that consequently, the pollution was off limits. Furthermore, the plaintiff investigations showed that the pollution was resulting from a technical failure from the defendant.
The court followed the argument of the plaintiff and considered that there was a causality link between the pollution and the action of the defendant. Furthermore, the court noted that the defendant had been negligent and consequently could see his responsibility engaged. As a result, the defendant was condemned to pay 3 000 euros civil fine.