On Friday evening, VAATC, accompanied by a group of security personnel, forcibly entered the Vilnius Mixed Municipal Waste Sorting Facility, ordered employees of the facility’s operator, UAB Energesman, to leave their workplaces, and took control of the site. The Mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas, was also present at the facility.
VAATC relied on a ruling issued by the Vilnius District Court on Friday. However, the court did not grant VAATC the right to take over the operation of the facility. The ruling merely granted VAATC the right to dispose of the MBA facility buildings and equipment and allowed its representatives to enter the premises. It did not authorise VAATC to assume operational control of the plant.
The court’s ruling has created a legal contradiction because the right of “disposal” is clearly defined under Lithuanian law. It allows the owner to sell, donate, pledge or otherwise dispose of property. However, it does not confer the right to possess, manage or use that property.
Moreover, VAATC did not ask the court to grant it the right to operate or manage the waste treatment facility, and therefore the ruling did not provide such authority.
“We witnessed what many people refer to as the real waste mafia. I was not allowed to enter the facility, nor was I permitted to collect my personal belongings. We were also prevented from making an inventory of our company’s assets located on the premises, even though a substantial amount of equipment belonging to Energesman remains there,” said Algirdas Blazgys, CEO of Energesman.
The facility still contains Energesman’s shredders, magnets, bioconversion equipment, construction materials, computers and other assets worth several million euros.
While the CEO of Energesman and the company’s legal counsel were going to the facility, the Mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas, was inside the premises.
“This bears all the hallmarks of unlawful self-help. VAATC has arbitrarily taken control of the facility despite having no legal right to do so at this stage. The court granted only the right to dispose of the property and to enter the site. It did not authorise VAATC to remove Energesman employees or prevent them from accessing the premises where both their personal belongings and company property remain,” said Dr Paulius Miliauskas, Partner at the law firm Miliauskas ir Lauraitytė.
Under the wording of the court’s ruling, the facility operating agreement between VAATC and Energesman remains in force.
Energesman will continue to defend its rights through all available legal means. The company will also appeal Friday’s ruling of the Vilnius District Court. Under Lithuanian law, the appeal must be filed within seven days.