Finnish government to pay undisclosed sum to Italian hydraulic car lift manufacturer
Case lingered in the courts for seven years before settlement was reached
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A long-running and much publicised dispute over an Italian-made hydraulic car lift to be used in car repair shops has been buried in all quietness. The quarrelling parties reached an agreement, according to which the Finnish government will pay an undisclosed sum as compensation.
The case lingered with the Tampere District Court for nearly seven years waiting for a trial that never came.
The case even managed to receive an advance ruling from the European Court of Justice.
The squabble started when chief engineer Tarmo Lehtinen of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's Department of Occupational Safety and Health said publicly eight years ago that the hydraulic car lift model accepted onto the EU market in Italy might be dangerous.
Lehtinen’s view was not supported by the Ministry. The head of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health did not endorse the motion for banning the equipment from the Finnish market.
The car lift manufacturer demanded around EUR 5.5 million in damages from Lehtinen and his employer, the Finnish government.
According to the company, Lehtinen’s statements had a negative effect on the sales of the equipment.
The fact that an agreement was reached in the compensation dispute is revealed by the district court ruling, according to which the case will not be handled.
The lift manufacturer, the Finnish government, and Lehtinen agreed not to disclose the content of the agreement.
The government’s additional budget from last autumn, however, sheds a certain amount of light on the content of the settlement.
According to the budget amendment, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is allowed to use up to EUR 300,000 to pay the car lift manufacturer.
In the budget text an attempt has been made to obscure the precise sum paid to the Italian company by saying that from the same lump sum of EUR 300,000 an undefined amount can be used for pharmaceutical field consultation services.
Also, each party will pay for their own legal expenses.
“The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health will not comment on why an agreement was finally arrived at”, says Director-General Jaana Koski from the Ministry’s Administrative Department.
Lehtinen says that he agreed to the settlement out of a request by his trade union, which was covering his legal fees. Without the union’s support, to continue the process would have been too great a financial risk for Lehtinen.
Before the actual court case had even started, Lehtinen had already accumulated nearly EUR 400,000 in various legal costs.
In December an answer from the EU Commission was also received to the complaint that the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union had filed in connection with the case in the spring of 2008.
In the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union’s view, Finland had neglected its obligations by not taking steps to stop the sales of the equipment eight years ago.
According to the EU Commission, however, Finland did not act incorrectly, given the information available at the time. Still, the Commission repeated its previous stand that the car lift in question was indeed against the regulations. This type of hydraulic car lifts is no longer allowed onto the market, the reply states.
The Finnish Metalworkers’ Union is still planning to reply to the Commission, says Juha Pesola, occupational safety secretary at the Union.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 13.1.2009 - TODAY |
 Finnish government to pay undisclosed sum to Italian hydraulic car lift manufacturer |
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