In the action, the council rejects compensation and says it had no responsibility for the mail receptacle falling.
The accident dates back to April 23, 2014 when, as part of a routine action, four students from the University of Minho climbed onto a structure – a concrete mailbox outside a building – which ended up collapsing, killing three other students. who were at the base.
In 2019, the four students who accompanied the three victims at the time were acquitted in the criminal case. They were accused of negligent homicide.
Now, in the action, signed by lawyer José Carlos Rendeiro, the families argue that both the council and the firm had been alerted to the fact that the structure – which had a cement flap that stood out – showed serious signs of poor condition and a marked risk/danger of falling. A state that would have been communicated to the CTT superior, by the local postman.
They say that the owner had responsibility for the conservation and surveillance of the structure, which had been there since 1996, and, as it was in the public domain, the city council had equal responsibility in the event that the buildings were dangerous to people’s safety.
“The defendants were aware of the state of ruin and the danger to passersby and did nothing. They did not seal off the surrounding area”, they maintain, concluding that the death of the three young people was due to omissive behavior and gross negligence, which, if avoided, would not have caused the fateful accident”.
In the defense, lawyer Nuno Albuquerque states that “the responsibility for repairs and maintenance of the structure, in order to leave it in good condition, lay with the owners and occupants of the Olympus UM Building – built by J. Gomes, Lda –, in the person of JM de Condomínios, in charge of the Condominium Administration since 1996. The municipality does not have any duty of surveillance/repair”.
