Environmental class actions: what can be claimed

Service page: Class actions and consumer claims lawyer.

The factory next door has ruined your life: what now?

Imagine a chemical smell that gets into your apartment, children in the neighborhood who keep coughing, and apartment values falling because of a nearby factory. Many residents near industrial zones know such scenarios.

The problem is that, on its own, each person’s damage “does not justify” a claim. Hiring a lawyer, paying a court fee, running a long proceeding: when each person’s damage is relatively small, a personal claim may cost more than it can achieve. This is exactly where an environmental class action comes in.

In a class action, one person files the claim on behalf of the whole class (section 4(a)(1) of the Class Actions Law). If the court certifies it, the class members are included without actively joining, unless they gave notice that they do not want to be included (section 11).

What exactly does the law allow us to do?

The Class Actions Law, 5766-2006, is the legal basis. It allows one person (the representative) to file a claim on behalf of a whole class harmed by the same harmful activity, even if most class members do not know that such a claim is being conducted on their behalf.

In the environmental field this is especially relevant. Air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution and excessive industrial noise all harm a whole group of people at the same time. Instead of a thousand separate claims, you file one group claim and use the combined strength.

What counts as an “environmental nuisance”? Item 6 refers to the definition in the Prevention of Environmental Nuisances (Civil Claims) Law, 5752-1992 (חוק למניעת מפגעים סביבתיים (תביעות אזרחיות), התשנ״ב-1992). It includes, among other things, air pollution, noise, odor, water pollution, pollution by waste, hazardous substances or radiation, and an asbestos nuisance. They count when they breach an enactment, an order, a plan, a business license or a permit, or when they harm a person’s health or cause a person real suffering (section 1). Alongside the class action route, the same Law has another route. A person who was harmed or may be harmed, and the bodies and nonprofit associations that section 6 authorizes, can ask the Magistrates’ Court for an order to stop the nuisance or to repair the damage. They do not need to prove negligence (sections 2 and 4). Such a claim is filed only 60 days after notice to the authority and to the party causing the nuisance, and only if neither of them has taken real steps in the meantime (section 5).

What must be proved for the court to approve the representation?

Before the claim gets going, the court examines whether it is right to certify it as a class action. This is the “first barrier”, and its conditions are set in section 8(a): material questions of fact or law common to all class members, with a reasonable possibility that they will be decided in the class’s favor; a class action is the efficient and fair way to decide the dispute; and there are reasonable grounds to assume that the class members’ interests will be represented and managed appropriately and in good faith. In addition, the applicant must have a personal cause of action (section 4(a)(1)). In practice, in an environmental claim this means:

Common questions: the damage each class member suffered comes from the same cause: the same polluter, the same activity. It is not enough that everyone lives in the same area. Their damage must be causally linked to the same source.

A personal cause of action for the representative: the person who files the motion must personally be genuinely harmed. The court will check that they have no individual financial interest that conflicts with the interests of the other class members.

An advantage over individual claims: the court asks whether it makes sense for everyone to sue separately. If the answer is “no, because the individual damage is small but the damage to the class is huge”, this is exactly the case the law was made for.

Which damages can be claimed?

In an environmental class action you can claim a wide range of damages:

Drop in property value: if the pollution affected apartment prices in the area, you can claim the difference. This is one of the damages that is relatively easy to quantify, because a real estate appraiser can prepare a clear numerical opinion.

Health damage: medical expenses caused by the pollution, reduced physical ability, pain and suffering. This is harder to prove, because you have to bridge the causal link between the pollution and the specific illness.

Harm to quality of life: odor, noise, less comfortable living. Israeli courts recognize this damage, although its amount is always disputed.

Damage to physical property: corrosion, external pollution, harm to a garden or to plants.

What is so hard about proving it?

The hardest point in any environmental claim is the causal link. The defendant will argue: “You are ill? Maybe because of smoking. The property lost value? Maybe because of the economic crisis.” And you have to disprove this.

So the proof in an environmental claim almost always rests on expert opinions: an environmental physician who links the exposure to the illness, a hydrologist who examines how the pollution spreads, and an economist who quantifies the drop in value.

Monitoring data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection are an important source of evidence, and it is worth getting them as early as possible.

How long does it take, and who sets the award and the payment to the representative counsel?

Environmental class actions are a long process. The length of the proceeding varies from case to case and is usually measured in years, both at the certification motion stage and after certification.

As for costs: the fee of the representative counsel is set by the court, and the lawyer may not receive more than the amount set (section 23 of the Class Actions Law). If the class action was decided in the class’s favor, including in a settlement agreement, an award is granted to the representative plaintiff (section 22).

What do you do first if you think there is a cause of action?

Before you go to a lawyer, it is worth taking a few steps that will greatly strengthen any future claim:

Ongoing records: every time there is an odor, smoke or unusual noise, take photos with a date and time stamp. Keep a diary. This is evidence.

Medical checks: if you have symptoms, see a doctor and document it. “A cough that has lasted 3 years near factory X” is evidence; “I felt bad” is less so.

Contact the Ministry of Environmental Protection: file a formal complaint. Not only because it puts pressure on the factory, but because the authority’s reply and the monitoring results will be significant evidence in the claim.

Organize your neighbors: a successful class action needs a “class”. The more people who keep records and file complaints, the broader the evidence base.