Couple sues municipality for Hultsfred 'inferno'

Published: 1 Aug 09 11:26 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/21048/20090801/

A couple from Hultsfred in southern Sweden is demanding 38,000 kronor ($5,000) in compensation from the local municipality to cover 19 years worth of disturbances caused by intoxicated attendees of the area's annual music festival.

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The two arrived at the sum by figuring each of them experienced 1,000 kronor worth of suffering each year, according to the Oskarshamns-Tidningen newspaper.

The Hultsfred Festival (Hultsfredsfestivalen) is a three-day music festival that is held every summer in the middle of June. In 2009, more than 23,000 people attended the festival.

According to the couple, the yearly festival is an “annual inferno” which attracts people under the influence of drugs and alcohol who end up making noise and urinating in their garden,

Since the festival occurs with the approval of the municipality, the couple argues that the municipality is responsible for compensating them for the trouble caused by the festival.

The municipality has a month to pay, and if they don't receive the money, the family is prepared to take the matter to court.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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16:18 August 1, 2009 by Beavis

I really hope they loose their case.Im sure the most amount of actual damage was about 2000kr max.Consider the amount of money the festival generates for the local community.Stupid people like these are the causes of festivals being cancelled and moved elsewhere.The money being put into the local economy going elsewhere.Its 3 days in a year..put up with it your morons.Local businesses should bring these type of people to court for loss of earnings

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11:10 August 2, 2009 by Harding00

I think the argument could be (and I am not saying this is the exact argument the couple is using) that because of the drunks attending the festival, and thus people urinating into their garden, that their garden gets destroyed. Urine, and of course being trampled on, kills plants. And plants, depending on the type and variety, can be very costly. I think though, that this couple should have made a complaint long ago. If they are suing solely because of the noise, well, get over it, it's life. If it was more often, then sure, I would understand, but not if they are complain over just a few days a year.

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