As the advisers were unable to decide, “the matter is referred to a subsequent hearing, which will be held under the chairmanship of the departing judge”
The files of the 242 former employees of La Halle, who claim a total of more than three million euros in compensation due to the presence of asbestos in a warehouse, were referred to the tie-breaker by the Prud’hommes de Châteauroux, can we read on the minutes of the industrial tribunal of Châteauroux sent on December 15, 2021.
The date of this new hearing is not yet known.
The 242 former employees of La Halle, now in compulsory liquidation, are asking for a total of more than three million euros in compensation for anxiety damage linked to asbestos present at one of their sites in Issoudun ( Indre). During the hearing on October 12, 2021, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Me Daniel Guiet, had invoked the “double penalty” of the employees, with exposure to asbestos for several years and economic dismissal after the liquidation of La Hall in summer 2020.
If no employee has fallen ill to date, the former employees of the site are however claiming compensation ranging from 7,500 to 20,000 euros, because of “permanent anxiety” linked to the fear of developing cancer.
Breaches
The lawyer for the wage guarantee scheme (AGS), which intervenes in the event of business failures and who would therefore be responsible for paying compensation in the event of a conviction, and that of the judicial representative of La Halle had pointed out the breaches in the constitution of complainant files.
With a few exceptions, the latter did not produce a medical certificate justifying their anxiety, or even proof that they were working well in the dangerous building.
“The fact that the case is referred to the tie-breaker shows that things are not as obvious as they can sometimes seem”, commented Thursday the defender of the AGS, Me Franck Morel. The judgment was initially reserved on January 7, 2022.