Elias Cabrera et al v. Constructora San Felipe et al

Reference :

Rol N° 160-2021

Complaint date :

March 25, 2021

Status :

Final judgment

Place of jurisdiction :

Chile, Puerto Montt

Plaintiffs types :

Neighbours

Plaintiffs names :

Alida Fernanda Elias Contrera and 32 neighbours of the city of Chaitén

Defendants :

Constructora San Felipe, Ministry of Public Works of the Region of Los Lagos

Lawyers for Health and Environmental Justice :

Pascale Dufeu Abeliuk

Case nature :

Civil court

Specificities :

Summary proceedings

Type(s), Product(s), Active substance(s) :

Glyphosate, Herbicide, Touchdown IQ 500 SL

Requests :

To issue a Non-Innovation Order and to order the company Constructora San Felipe to suspend the cleanup work in the area, until the present appeal is resolved and the use of pesticides or herbicides for this work is definitively prohibited.

Name of the Court :

Court of Appeals (Corte de Apelaciones) of Puerto Montt, Chile

Jurisdiction level :

Decision date :

April 9, 2021

Decision nature :

Positive

Decision content :

The Court orders the definitive end to the use of herbicides in the area and the use of alternative methods without highly toxic chemicals for cleaning and carrying out work in the area.

Legal basis :

Court Ruling :

No description

Summary :

33 neighbours of the municipality of Chaitén file a complaint following the observation of illegal spraying of glyphosate-based herbicides to clean a stretch of road in the south of the country (Carretra Austral, Ruta 7) on March 25, 2021. On April 11, 2021, the Court rules in their favor and bans the use of chemical pesticides for road maintenance in this area.

Scientific references :

IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Some Organophosphate Insecticides and Herbicides. Lyon (FR): International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2017. PMID: 31829533.