Three guests attending a convention at a convention hall in Israel were shocked to see that the management permitted smoking in all areas, despite being against the law. They asked several times to be seated in a no smoking area but their modest request was not accommodated.

The decided they had had enough and took their case to the district court. The owners of the hall were fined 90,000 NIS. The owners however were certain the ruling was extreme so they decided to appeal the verdict of what was being viewed as a class action suit. It appears this is the first lawsuit of its kind since Israel’s newer stricter laws were passed.

To the profound disappointment of the managers the High Court felt the hall failed to enforce the no smoking law, and this was a serious offense, far more serious than viewed by the lower court. The High Court of Justice ordered that each of the three petitioners will receive 5,000 NIS compensation. However, since the court viewed the case as a class action suit, and the hall holds 1,000 guests, the managers must pay 1.16 million NIS to the Israel Cancel Society towards continued research.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)