Fire of the Industrial Palace: The Supreme Court upheld the verdict

Brno - The Supreme Court confirmed a three-year-old verdict that gave Prague the opportunity to seek damages from the company Reality MK for the destruction of the left wing of the Industrial Palace in Prague by fire. In April, without a public hearing, it rejected the appeals of the company and the city of Prague, which initially wanted to assert a billion crown claim against two other companies as well. The Supreme Court has now made the justification accessible. The company Reality MK belongs to the Slovak Incheba and is currently facing an insolvency proposal.

The interim judgment, which did not yet address the amount of compensation, was issued in the first instance by the District Court for Prague 7. According to it, the tenant of the exhibition center neglected preventive obligations. The lawsuit originally also targeted the companies Eur-Med and P.A.P.S.T., which exhibited in the palace. According to the district court, the claim for damages against them cannot be raised. The verdict was confirmed by the Municipal Court in Prague in September 2013.

The Supreme Court now emphasized the tenant's obligation to return the property or other contract item to the lessor, in this case to Prague, in appropriate condition. "There is no doubt that the leased premises were destroyed by fire during the duration of the lease relationship and that the first defendant (Reality MK) did not fulfill the stated obligation," states the resolution. However, it also did not uphold Prague's appeal, deeming both submissions inadmissible.

The west wing of the palace burned down in 2008. The damage exceeded one billion crowns. The fire likely spread from an electric cooker in one of the stalls during the Pragodent fair. A specific perpetrator could not be identified.

Legal disputes followed on several fronts. Some time ago, the city released itself from a long-term and, according to some opinions, disadvantageous lease agreement with Incheba. However, the company will still hold some events at the exhibition center until 2018. Prague is currently preparing for the completion of the wing of the Industrial Palace and is currently selecting a designer. The city is also planning to renovate the entire exhibition area.

Last year, the Supreme Administrative Court also dealt with the fire when it reopened the dispute over the 200,000 crown fine that Incheba received from the firefighters. The firefighters pointed out five specific shortcomings in the fire safety measures during the time of the then operator of the exhibition center. In three instances, the court acknowledged that Incheba made mistakes, and in two it upheld its cassation complaint.