Years-long legal battle expected over Nordic Waste landslide liability

A legal fight over who bears responsibility for the 2023 landslide at Nordic Waste will likely drag on for years, despite a 450 million kroner damages claim being filed against six former executives on Monday.

Curator Boris Frederiksen of Poul Schmith/Kammeradvokaten, representing the estates of Nordic Waste and DSH Recycling, confirmed that the case is far from court-ready. The first step is for the defendants to respond to the summons with a formal reply within a court-set deadline, after which the parties will exchange arguments in a lengthy back-and-forth.

The estates allege the former leadership is liable for the landslide, which began in December 2023 and forced Randers Municipality and the Environmental Agency to avert a potential environmental disaster. Cleanup costs have since approached half a billion kroner.

A spokesperson for the former executives rejected the allegations, stating they had adhered to all regulatory guidelines and environmental approvals during their tenure.

Frederiksen expects the dispute to take “a couple of years” before reaching trial, given the high stakes and complexity. Frederik Waage, a professor of administrative law at the University of Southern Denmark, agrees, estimating at least two years before court proceedings begin. He added that the case’s scale and principle could see it escalate to the Supreme Court.