Court dismisses water case<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Central Jakarta District Court dismissed all charges by the
\nJakarta Water Consumers Community (Komparta) against PT Thames
\nPAM Jaya (TPJ) and PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) as the consumer
\ngroup failed to comply with required legal procedures in its
\nclass action suit against the firms.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Suripto read out the ruling on Wednesday that
\nthe court found that Komparta lacked legal standing as it only
\nhad powers of attorney from three out of the eight customers who
\nhad complained of the water firms' poor service.<\/p>\n
\"The authorization stipulated in the letter is also of a
\ngeneral nature,\" he said. \"It does not define what the letter
\nwould be used for. In this case, it was for a lawsuit against the
\ndefendants.\"<\/p>\n
Suripto said since Komparta was not entitled to represent the
\ncustomers, the court had to reject the suit and drop all charges
\nand demands against the defendants.<\/p>\n
Komparta filed the suit last June, after the firms' insisted
\non raising water rates despite customer complaints of a lack of
\nimprovement in the service.<\/p>\n
Komparta demanded compensation amounting to Rp 990 million
\n(US$110,000) for material losses and claimed punitive damages of
\nRp 1 billion. It also demanded the firms publish a public apology
\nto customers in several major media.<\/p>\n
While the water firms' defense team was satisfied with the
\nverdict, Komparta lawyer J.J. Armstrong Sembiring was unhappy
\nwith the ruling.<\/p>\n
He questioned the verdict since an earlier ruling by the court
\nhad concluded that all legal procedural requirements -- including
\nthe letter of authorization -- were fulfilled.<\/p>\n
\"How can it now become a consideration in the final verdict?\"
\nhe said, alleging that the ruling was connected to the
\nreplacement of Judge Andriani Nurdin with Judge Suripto around
\nthree months ago.<\/p>\n
Komparta previously won a similar case against the city
\nadministration. The trial was then presided over by Judge
\nAndriani, in which the court ordered the administration to
\npostpone the implementation of a water rate hike in 2003.<\/p>\n
Komparta will appeal the verdict, and if necessary, file a new
\nclass action suit against the firms.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-dismisses-water-case-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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