MPMT v. Joel Rubin (Deforestation in Nova Maringá, Mato Grosso)

In January 2021, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Mato Grosso (MPMT) filed a Public Civil Action (CPA), with a request for an injunction, against Joel Rubin, seeking compensation for material and moral damages resulting from the deforestation of 296.2541 hectares in a Legal Reserve (RL) area on Fazenda Silva I, located in the municipality of Nova Maringá, in Mato Grosso. The deforestation occurred without authorization from the environmental agency between 2015 and 2018. It is mentioned that the damage caused by the emission of greenhouse gases resulting from deforestation violates the provisions of the National Policy on Climate Change (Federal Law 12.187/2009) and the State Policy on Climate Change (State Law 582/2017), contributing to global climate change. It is argued that the Brazilian legal system enshrines the principle of preserving climate integrity and warns of the intensification of global warming effects. It is alleged that environmental civil liability is strict, and the obligation to repair is propter rem. In the preliminary injunction, the plaintiff requests, among other measures, the prohibition of economic use of the area during the litigation, the restoration of the degraded or altered area, the suspension of financing, tax incentives, and access to credit lines, and the registration of the CPA in the property’s deed. As a final request, the plaintiff seeks compensation for material environmental damages, estimated at R$ 12,169,649.70, and for moral damages, to be determined by the court. In January 2021, the court partially granted the urgent injunctive relief, limiting it to the registration of the lawsuit in the property’s deed. In September 2021, the defendant filed his response arguing that the property where the deforestation occurred was sold by him in 2017 to Milton Paulo Cella and, therefore, he is not the party responsible for the deforestation nor the proper party to be named as the defendant in the lawsuit. On the merits, the defendant requested the total dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims. He argued in favor of restoration of the area over the payment of compensation, the impossibility of cumulating compensation for material and moral damages, and the absence of moral damages. In its reply, the MPMT requested the amendment of the initial complaint to include Milton Paulo Cella and Diogo Ricardo Bavaresco as defendants, as they acquired the deforested area, which was accepted by the defendant. Due to the connection of this lawsuit with others pending against the defendant in the Federal Court of the First Region, the case was transferred to the Federal Court under case number 1002350-88.2024.4.01.3604.