Cologne --
The collapse of the Cologne city archives: On Tuesday, the consequences of the disaster the first time, rolled up in front of the Cologne District Court.
In a civil proceeding Lender, entrusted their valuable archives of the city want to formulate their claims.
The process, which starts at 11.45 clock in Room 126 in the Palace of Justice on the Luxembourg road, could be groundbreaking. In particular, for the city of Cologne. The fearing that they must pay for a million claims.
The Cologne art lawyer, Dr. Louis Peters says that the city has a "gross violation of the care requirement reproach" is. The lenders were convinced that the city can exercise in dealing with the greatest care of archive treasures. The court should therefore determine formally once the damage - especially for missing discounts.
One of the plaintiffs is the director Franz-Josef Heumannskamper, who had returned to the Archives 1998 the estate of William Pearson, baritone, who died in 1995. There are 400 other lenders.
The Cologne prosecutor assumes that the accident was due to a defective trench wall. As a result, a hydraulic base failure led to the collapse, when the building has been undermined by water. Attorney Guenther Field: "We are still determined."
The liability issues are not yet clear. In the case of force majeure is conceivable that not paying the insurance. Even the coverage of urban insurance may be insufficient.
