The Minas Gerais court ruled that Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais (Copasa) must compensate a resident from Belo Horizonte after a water pipeline rupture caused substantial property damage. The court's decision increased the total compensation amount to approximately R$ 37,000 for material damages, and included an additional R$ 8,000 for moral damages.

This incident involved a resident of the Aglomerado da Serra, a region in the southern part of Belo Horizonte. The rupture led to a significant underground water leak that infiltrated the ground, compromising the structural integrity of the resident's property, which consists of residential houses and a store. The resulting excess water caused various structural issues, including cracks and fissures, posing a risk of collapse and necessitating emergency structural reinforcement work.

Initially, an earlier ruling by the Belo Horizonte District Court had set the compensation amount at R$ 3,000, but this was amended following a review. The ruling underscores the judicial system's role in addressing negligence by public utility companies and reinforces the importance of infrastructure maintenance to prevent such incidents from affecting local residents.