Four lawyers, representing 104 citizens of Messina and Reggio Calabria, have presented an appeal pursuant to article 840 to the Court of Rome (Companies section) against the Stretto di Messina Spa company: in the center is the bridge over the Strait.
The lawyers Aurora Notarianni, Giuseppe Vitarelli, Antonino De Luca (of the Forum of Messina) e Maria Grazia Fedele (of the Court of Reggio Calabria), on 13 June they promoted what, technically, is called Collective Inhibitory Action, to ask the judge to ascertain the liability of the company and – we read in a press note – “the unjust damage caused by the violation of the duty of diligence, correctness and good faith by continuing the activity for the construction of the work despite the fact that the bridge over the Strait of Messina has no real strategic interest and is not feasible from environmental and structural points of view and economical.”
The reasons and intent of the appeal are explained as follows:
The 104 private citizens who undertook this action live and love the two shores of the Strait of Messina and have a common interest in the protection of the landscape, the historical and archaeological heritage, the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems and intend to implement every activity necessary to preserve the territory, the quality of life, health and well-being also in the interests of future generations.
The appellants, with this class action, narrate the history of the company and the project and highlight the validity of their reasons by claiming that the so-called bridging decree – which resurrected acts and subjects – is constitutionally illegitimate and contrary to European legislation and consequently denounce the illegitimacy of the actions of the company led by Pietro Ciucci, due to violation of numerous internal and Euro-unitary, as well as international, regulations.
The appeal indicates the violated rules, the supra-individual interests to be protected and also the prejudice to the individual and collective legal spheres due to the patrimonial and non-patrimonial prejudice caused.
The defense team states: “This appeal aims to ascertain and declare the proposed collective injunction action admissible and well founded. We thus want to obtain the immediate cessation by the Stretto di Messina company of any act or behavior prejudicial to collective and widespread and legally protected rights and interests, of any activity aimed at approving the definitive and executive project, of any behavior relating to the restart of the planning activity of the work and, as a result, ordering the immediate cessation of all negotiating activities, of the stipulation of additional, unilateral and contractual deeds, onerous and otherwise, and of every resolution of the Board of Directors, of every deed or document produced in the proceedings before the VIA VAS Commission and the Services Conference and order the cessation of any connected and consequent activity capable of reiterating the conduct prejudicial to collective and homogeneous interests worthy of protection and prohibit its recurrence. Now, after the appeal has been filed, we await the date of the hearing.”
