Staff Reporter :The case filed against Bangladesh along with three retailers with a US District Court over the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy has been withdrawn. The plaintiffs withdrew the case last week, sources of the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. “Our Ambassador in the US, Mohammad Ziauddin, sent a letter on August 15 informing that the plaintiffs had decided to withdraw the lawsuit. It is a good news for us. We were ready to fight the case. We even fixed a law firm for legal battle in the US court,” said an official of the Foreign Ministry. When asked about the reasons behind the withdrawal of the lawsuit, the official said that they did not know the exact reasons. Abdur Rahaman, a personal representative of victim Sharifa Begum, who died in that incident, and Mahamudul Hasan Hridoy, a 25-year-old worker, who was injured in the tragedy, filed the case with the US District Court of Columbia on April 23 of this year, a day before the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy. The Rana Plaza of Savar collapsed on April 24 in 2013, resulting in the death of at least 1,129 people and injuring more than 2,500 people.In the case, the plaintiffs accused Bangladesh and three retailers namely the Children’s Place, Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney of negligence and wrongful death. The plaintiffs said that the defendants had acted negligently and recklessly in failing to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for garment workers working at the Rana Plaza building.As per the lawsuit, the construction of the building did not meet even basic building safety standards. Bangladesh breached its duty to its citizens, failing to properly inspect the building, failing to ensure compliance with local construction standards. “Similarly, retailer defendants breached their duty to workers in the Rana Plaza building by failing to implement standards and oversight mechanisms designed to ensure the health and safety of workers, who manufactured clothing for their stores,” the lawsuit also said. “Defendants knew, or with the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known, that the Rana Plaza facility was not safe for human habitation,” stated the lawsuit.The petition sought an order to pay compensatory damages to the plaintiffs and other victims to pay the costs of filing case, including attorneys’ fees and expenses, and to require injunctive relief, including requiring defendants to implement labour practices consistent with international standards for worker’s health and safety protection.According to the sources, the plaintiffs hinted that the compensation against the damages caused to the victims could exceed $ five million.The Bangladesh government took all the necessary preparations to fight the case. As part of the preparations, the Bangladesh Embassy in the US had contacted a reputed law firm– Foley Hoag LLP. This law firm represented Bangladesh in the maritime-boundary disputes with India and Myanmar.
