Small and medium businesses in Grindavík plan to sue the state
Local businesses express dissatisfaction with government actions. mbl.is/Sigurður Bogi
Small and medium-sized businesses in Grindavík intend to file a damages lawsuit against the Icelandic state due to repeated closures of the town in recent years.
“Of course, not everyone has joined yet, but quite a few companies are involved and are firm in their decision,” says Kjartan Sigurðsson, owner of a tourism company in Grindavík.
According to Sigurðsson, this is one of several legal actions being pursued by residents of the town. He says the case is in its early stages but that a lawyer has already been consulted.
The last straw
Gylfi Arnar Ísleifsson, a restaurateur in Grindavík, says the reopening of the Blue Lagoon — while the town itself remained closed to the public — was the final straw that led to this action.
Ísleifsson says the revenue losses for businesses in Grindavík are in the tens of millions of ISK and argues that the government's decision to close the town was not based on sound reasoning.
