Chapecoense have sued the insurance company hired by LaMia airline, and several Bolivian government entities over damages caused by the air crash that killed 71 people a year ago in Colombia, the Brazilian club said on Wednesday.
The club announced that it filed suit in the Fourth Civil Court of Chapeco, the city where the team is based, with a "indemnization claim suit in which the sued parties are BISA Seguros (y Reaseguros) and Bolivian government entities."
Chapecoense is demanding "condemnation and indemnization payments," stemming from the tragedy which happened on Nov. 28, 2016, when the plane in which the players, managers, officials and reporters ran out of fuel, crashing on a mountain near Medellin. Of the 77 passengers aboard the plane at the time of the accident, 71 died.
Chapecoense did not specify which "Bolivian government entities" were sued, but said it would reveal further information regarding the lawsuit on Dec. 1, after the club's managing counsel meets.
BISA Insurance was hired by Bolivian airline LaMia, but last May it claimed that LaMia's policy had expired because of a lack of payments and that it did not cover trips to Colombia as its destination.
However, a month later, Bolivian authorities considered that insurance policy as valid and said that the insurance company had to compensate victims.
The company had already compensated relatives of deceased crew members, but relatives of the victims on the Chapecoense delegation have so far not received any payments.
The insurer remains firm on its claim that the policy did not cover trips to Colombia. However, it hired the prestigious Clyde & Co. law firm in order to manage a "humanitarian assistance fund," granting $200,000 to each affected family.
There is a caveat, though: any family that accepts the money will lose any rights to sue those responsible in the future, as soon as investigations end. There are still investigations ongoing in Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia, according to victims' associations.
Most have not accepted any payments, despite the insurer saying on a previous report that talks between both parties are still ongoing.