Court in Usti nad Labem halts eight-year-old case involving Romani family

A court in the north Bohemian city of Usti nad Labem has ruled the municipality does not have to pay any compensation to the Cervenaks, a Romani family that was suing the city for damages allegedly suffered in 1993. For the Cervenak family the heart of the dispute was the loss of city-owned apartments that followed after family members moved to Slovakia. When family members began returning to Usti nad Labem within a matter of days, they found they were unable to return to their original homes.

Cervenak family members contended they were never properly compensated for the property they had given up, although they were later given some accommodation by the city after the president's office intervened, and received 900, 000 crowns from the Czech state in an out-of-court settlement after the family took their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Five out of eight family members withdrew their current lawsuit in Usti nad Labem last month, leaving just three plaintiffs in Monday's ruling. The trio had been asking for compensation of 8 million crowns, or roughly 270, 000 euros.