One way of discouraging plaintiffs

January 17, 2015

Some residents drop petition to halt restart of Sendai reactors in Kagoshima

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/17/national/some-residents-drop-petition-to-halt-restart-of-sendai-reactors-in-kagoshima/#.VLqiGy51Cos

Kyodo

KAGOSHIMA – Some of the local residents seeking a court injunction to halt the restart of Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture have dropped their petitions, their lawyers said Saturday

Around 10 of the 23 residents who had sought the injunction last May have decided not to push ahead with their petition after learning that Kyushu Electric could seek massive damages from them, the lawyers said.

In addition to the residents’ petition with the Kagoshima District Court, a larger group of plaintiffs filed in 2012 a lawsuit with the same court against Kyushu Electric and the state to prevent the restart of two reactors at the Sendai plant due to safety reasons.

The 23 residents are part of this larger group and reside in Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures.

If the plaintiffs win the case, it would delay the utility’s efforts to restart the reactors. But in the event they lose, Kyushu Electric could demand compensation from those who petitioned for the injunction because of the damages incurred due to the stoppage, according to the lawyers.

In one of the hearings, Kyushu Electric informed the court in writing that if the restart is delayed, it would mean losses worth ¥550 million per day.

The utility has also urged the court to order the plaintiffs to prepare cash collateral for possible compensation they might have to pay. The court has not yet issued such an order but some of the locals have decided to back out, the lawyers said, adding a ruling on the injunction is expected to be handed out in February at the earliest.

Last November, Kyushu Electric won consent from the Kagoshima Prefectural Government and the plant’s host city of Satsumasendai for the restart of the two reactors at the Sendai plant, putting them in line to become the first of the country’s 48 offline commercial atomic units to resume operation.

They are the first units to have cleared a set of tougher safety requirements introduced following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.