Last Thursday, on May 23, 2019, Adv. Kalia Klein and her team received a groundbreaking verdict in favor of their client in case file no. 52042-07-17 the State of Israel vs. Yankovitz, Engineering Building and Development Ltd., and others (herein as Yankovitz).
Yankowitz were acquitted of the charge of illegally contracting with a company "(Danny Eizman Cranes" ), which, according to the state, provided manpower services without a required license.
The engineering company Yankovitz, represented by Adv. Kalia Klein from our firm, claimed that the services provided by Eizman were not manpower services but rather professional cranes services which were much more professional and much safer than services provided by any manpower company..
The court by the honorable Judge Yafit Zalmanovich Gissin accepted the defendant's argument and acquitted the company and its manager with the claim "no case to answer". Furthermore, the verdict criticized the state by saying that the charges were harmful to the construction industry since they encouraged a shift from using safe professional crane services to using licensed manpower services with less professional knowledge and less awareness to safety issues.
As the increasing number of employee casualties in the construction industry has become a national crisis in Israel, the verdict is particularly important and relevant. Hopefully, it will be a catalyst for focusing on professionalism and safety.