A Thai court has accepted a class action lawsuit against Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), seeking compensation for damage to the livelihood of farmers and the environment from the spread of invasive blackchin tilapia fish.
The Bangkok South Civil Court said on Tuesday that the case filed by 10 fishermen and fish breeders in Samut Songkhram province could be accepted as class action as the rapid spread of the fish in the country’s waterways had resulted in widespread damage.
Panya Tokthong, a fish farmer and researcher based in Amphawa district of the province, said his group was seeking 2.4 billion baht in compensation for loss of income derived from fish breeding and small-scale fish farming.
They are represented by Sittiporn Lelanapasak and attorneys from the Lawyers Council of Thailand to fight the case against the SET-listed agribusiness conglomerate.
The lawsuit was initiated in September last year and underwent an extensive review by the court before it announced its decision on Tuesday.
“Thank you to the court of justice for permitting a class action lawsuit in the blackchin tilapia case,” Mr Sittiporn said in a message on his Facebook account on Tuesday.
Mr Panya also thanked the team of lawyers for helping the plaintiffs by gathering facts on the ground including assessments of the damage, according to Daily News.
He said he hoped the court decision would be a first step towards winning the case, as the company that first brought the fish into Thailand should bear responsibility, the online news outlet said.
Somchai Ameen, a lawyer specialising in environmental cases at the council, said the case could set a precedent lawsuit for affected parties in 18 other provinces to follow.
He said CPF now has seven days to appeal the court’s decision, according to Daily News.
A CPF representative said the company would exercise the right to appeal and would fight the case with scientific evidence and facts, Manager Online reported. CPF had followed all regulations related to the fish and stressed the importance of protecting environment, a company statement added.
CPF has consistently denied it was behind the blackchin tilapia outbreak since reports emerged last year of widespread harm done to the freshwater fishery and shrimp farms in numerous provinces.
The company has acknowledged that it imported blackchin tilapia from Ghana for research at its Amphawa breeding centre in December 2010, with permission from the Department of Fisheries. But it scrapped the project a month later after they grew weak and died.
All of the fish were subsequently disposed of in a landfill using approved methods, with samples and documentation sent to the department, CPF has said. But the department maintains that it did not receive the material in question.
Still, blackchin tilapia were found in Amphawa and later detected in canals and waterways in 18 other provinces.
CPF is also pursuing a libel suit against the secretary-general of the BioThai Foundation in connection with statements he made about the company and the spread of the fish.
