Worker Faces $270,000 Bill over Shattered Diamond
April 22, 25
(IDEX Online) - A diamond cutter in Israel may be forced to pay the full value of an uninsured $270,000 diamond that shattered while he was working on it.
The two companies that supplied the stone are taking legal action against the man, identified only as Y, through an arbitration panel at the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), in Ramat Gan, according to the TV news channel N12.
Y was working for his brother, owner of the diamond company, when the stone shattered - an inherent risk of the cutting process.
The company is not a member of the IDE, and therefore not bound by its arbitration process, but Y is, and that's why he personally is being sued.
Employees are not generally expected to bear the cost of business losses occurring in the ordinary course of their work.
Avihai Yehosef, Y's attorney, has asked the Tel Aviv District Court to intervene and make a declaratory judgment clarifying the legal rights and obligations of all parties. He has also asked IDE to delay its arbitration pending that judgment.
"Y acted solely as an employee in his brother's company, without making independent decisions or making personal commitments," said Yehosef.
"The goal is for the company to bear responsibility for its transactions, and not the employee, who is not supposed to pay a debt created by its business activity."
File pic of polished diamond.