Praha may request compensation for the fire at the Industrial Palace

Prague - Prague can seek compensation from Incheba for the destroyed left wing of the Industrial Palace, the Municipal Court in Prague ruled today in a final decision during appeal proceedings. The monument was destroyed by a fire in 2008. The court was addressing Incheba's appeal against the April ruling of the District Court for Prague 7, which determined that the metropolis had the option to claim financial compensation. According to today's verdict, against which Incheba can appeal, the company failed in fire protection. The district court will reconsider the claim. Prague previously estimated the damage at over one billion crowns.
    According to Judge Helena Lišková, no further evidence can be presented in the case because several years have passed since the fire and the site has long been cleared. "It is not possible to draw a conclusive conclusion about the causes of the fire. The police have stopped criminal prosecution against specific individuals," she added. However, it is a fact, according to her, that Incheba failed as a landlord in fire protection and did not take sufficient preventive measures regarding the companies that participated in the health exhibition in the palace at that time.
    The case is now being returned to the District Court for Prague 7, to which Prague will submit a specific request for compensation. Estimates by experts and lawyers in the metropolis have so far suggested damages of more than one billion crowns.
    The capital also sued companies Eur-med and P.A.P.S.T., which exhibited in the palace, in addition to Incheba. However, previous courts dismissed the lawsuits.
    The Industrial Palace, which Incheba has rented long-term, was destroyed by fire in October 2008. Since then, Prague has been engaged in a legal dispute over compensation, as well as an unsuccessful dispute with insurance companies. According to earlier estimates by the city, the reconstruction of the monument will cost about 1.5 billion crowns.
    The police concluded after investigation that the cause of the fire was forgotten items on an turned-on electric cooker in one of the stalls.