A compensation association representing Viborg district heating customers has been granted state-funded legal aid to take the failed Kvols geothermal case to Denmark’s Supreme Court.
DR reports that Erstatningsforening Fjernvarmesagen has obtained fri proces, meaning state-funded legal aid, to bring the so-called geotermi-sag before Højesteret. The association lost its compensation claim at Vestre Landsret, the Western High Court, last year.
Ole Jespersen from Viborg chairs the association and is the leading figure behind the appeal. According to DR, he welcomes the chance to have the case tested by the country’s highest court, and says district heating consumers in Viborg have been subjected to a very serious abuse.
A 165 million kroner bill
The dispute concerns a geothermal drilling project in the village of Kvols near Viborg, which was halted 14 years ago. As reported by DR, consumers had originally accepted spending of 11 to 13 million kroner, while total costs eventually reached about 165 million kroner.
That bill was passed on to local district heating customers rather than covered elsewhere. More than 1,900 consumers and two housing associations then sued the board of Viborg Fjernvarme, the city’s district heating utility, over the decision.
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The case has changed shape over the years. Per DR, several former members of the Viborg Fjernvarme board have died or are now too old to take part in court proceedings. The two housing associations have also withdrawn from the compensation association, leaving mainly individual consumers behind the claim.
Jespersen does not regard the matter as outdated despite the passage of time. He tells DR that the case is driven by a sense of justice, and describes consumers as having been financially slaughtered for a project they never approved.
Limited coverage so far
The move to Højesteret has so far been reported only by DR. Neither Højesteret nor Viborg Fjernvarme has published a statement or decision document about the granting of fri proces in the case.
DR does not report a specific deadline, court date or external ruling behind the timing of the appeal. The broadcaster states only that the association lost at Vestre Landsret last year and has now secured legal aid to continue.
Fri proces means the state covers the costs of conducting a civil case, including legal representation. For the plaintiffs in the Viborg case, it removes the financial barrier to a third round of litigation, after proceedings at district court and high court level. The dispute has run for more than a decade since the drilling in Kvols was stopped.
The case now awaits handling at Højesteret in Copenhagen. No hearing date has been reported for the appeal, which will focus on whether the former board members of Viborg Fjernvarme can be held liable for the costs charged to consumers.
