Relief for Recylex, but legal battles continue

France – After seven years, a legal case between major European recycler Recylex and the liquidators of Metaleurop Nord has come to an end.

Recylex does not have to pay the Euro 50 million claimed by the liquidators of Metaleurop. ‘This decision lifts a major uncertainty that has been hanging over the group,’ Recylex states in a press release.

Metaleurop Nord went into liquidation in 2003. In 2005, legal action was initiated by various parties against Recylex. In 2006, the liquidators of Metaleurop Nord launched a claim for payment of liabilities still owed in the amount of Euro 50 million (US$ 67.6 million). The claim for repayment was rejected by two courts on the grounds that Recylex was not the director of Metaleurop Nord. The liquidators then took the appeal to the French Cour de Cassation, which now confirms the original ruling.

However, the decision does not bring to an end the company’s legal battles as there are still claims by 299 former employees from Metaleurop. As Recycling International reported in an October issue feature on Recylex, the former workers want a total of Euro 11.4 million (US$ 15.3 million) in compensation for not being protected against asbestos exposure back in the 1970s.