The court decided on Wednesday to dismiss the lawsuit against Tallinna Vesi in all claims made by the companies Jazz Pesulad, Olerex, Hotell Euroopa, EfTEN SPV2, EfTEN Sky, Kadrioru Ärikeskus, Solarise Keskus, Hotell Olümpia and Central Hotell.

The parties disputed whether the companies paid Tallinna Vesi an unjustifiably high price from 2010 to 2019 and whether, as a result, the plaintiffs have the right to demand the defendant to refund the amounts they have overpaid during this period compared to the price that came into effect on December 1, 2019.

The companies' claims were based on the resolution of a legal dispute between Tallinna Vesi and the Competition Authority, in which the Supreme Court decided in 2017 that Tallinna Vesi had no right to raise the water price to the desired extent in 2011. As a result of the court decision, Tallinna Vesi lowered the water price for business clients by 15 percent in 2019.

Harju County Court found on Wednesday that the plaintiffs' claim could not be satisfied as it lacked a legal basis. The obligation of the plaintiffs and those who assigned their claims to them to pay the price deriving from legal acts, i.e., the price established by the local government during the disputed period, has not been eliminated. Despite the court's explanations, the plaintiffs have not highlighted or proven circumstances that would have required the obligation to be eliminated as of November 1, 2010, before the defendant submitted the first price application for approval to the Competition Authority.

"Since the plaintiffs' demand lacks a legal basis, all the principal claims against the defendant must be dismissed. As the court will dismiss all principal claims, all claims for interest must also be dismissed," wrote Judge Anu Uritam in the court decision.

The court also decided to impose the defendant's procedural costs on the plaintiffs in proportion to the size of their claims. The parties can submit an appeal against the court decision to the Tallinn Circuit Court within 30 days from the delivery of the court decision.

The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by businesses with significant water consumption against Tallinna Vesi AS, who have used the water services provided by the defendant over the years based on tariffs submitted by the defendant, which were not approved by the Competition Authority or deemed to be in compliance with the existing Public Water Supply and Sewerage Act. The defendant has charged and billed the plaintiffs over the years with an unjustifiably high price for water services, thereby causing extensive damage to the plaintiffs and unjustly enriching at the plaintiffs' expense, as stated in the lawsuit.

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