Magnusson has successfully represented the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in a dispute regarding spruce bark beetles

Magnusson Sweden, through a team consisting of Mårten Tagaeus, Johan Sparrman and Josefine Eklund, has successfully assisted the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding a dispute against AB Karl Hedin Skog concerning compensation for damage caused by spruce bark beetle infestation. The company claimed that the infestation started in the nature reserve Hälleskogsbrännan and then spread to two of the company’s forestry properties, while the EPA held that it could not possibly be determined where the infestation began and how it came to spread.

This summer, the Land and Environment Court of Appeal issued its judgment, which agrees with the EPA’s position and thus dismissed the company’s appeal. The court holds that the company has not demonstrated that the spruce bark beetles have spread from the reserve to a sufficient extent to invoke strict liability under the Environmental Code. The Land and Environment Court of Appeal’s judgment has not been appealed.