Nguyen Van Lang, the first person in the city to sue authorities for such a reason, has requested total compensation of VND372 million (US$16,769) for business losses and damage to his restaurant, which is located in his home.
Lang said he opened the restaurant on Hoang Sa Street along Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe Canal in 2001.
In January 2005, the Chinese contractor Tmec&Chec-3, which was working on a city drainage project, erected barriers near his door. Lang said no one had visited the restaurant since that time.
In early 2007, the fence was removed but it was erected again in November 2007 when the drainage project resumed. The fence was taken down last year.
Lang said his income from the restaurant was far more than the compensation of VND6 million ($307) for each month that he has requested.
Of the total compensation request, he has asked for VND120 million ($6,153) to repair the damage to his house allegedly caused by the contractor's work site.
"I have to sue them because my family has suffered a lot. A public project for the community should not cause damage to other people," he said.
Phan Chau Thuan, director of the environmental sanitation project's management board, said after Lang filed his lawsuit, the board replied to several requests from the HCM City People's Court.
He said the local authorities and the project management board had organised several meetings to negotiate the compensation amount.
Lang, however, rejected the proposals, and the contractor TMEC&CHEC-3 refused to acknowledge its responsibility for the damage to Lang's house.
The contractor agreed to pay Lang VND8 million ($410) after independent inspectors estimated that VND31million ($1,589) was needed for repairs.
The contractor defended its decision, saying that the house was located near the canal, and that the damage had been unavoidable.
The court said it had asked the plaintiff to submit evidence for the compensation request several times.
Lang filed the lawsuit at District 1's People's Court in October 2009, but the court transferred the case to a higher-level court, explaining that it was out of its jurisdiction.
Lawyer Bui Quang Nghiem, deputy head of the HCM City Lawyers Association, said citizens had the right to sue for compensation, but they must prove to the court that the damage was caused by the defendant.
If the court finds fault, it will force the responsible parties to offer compensation.
Court officials said the erected fence was allowed to be in place for no more than 12 months.
If the fence stay exceeded that amount of time and damage to the house could be linked to the fence, then the defendant would have to pay compensation, the court said. — VNS
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