James Howells, the British man who famously lost his Bitcoin-filled hard drive in a Newport landfill over a decade ago, has filed legal action against Newport City Council after years of unsuccessful attempts to retrieve the device.
On Oct. 12, WalesOnline reported that Howells is seeking damages or permission to excavate the landfill to recover the hard drive, which holds 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC), now valued at over $647 million.
The legal action, which has garnered international attention, comes after years of repeated refusals by the Newport City Council to allow Howells to search for his hard drive.
Howells claims his latest efforts to engage in negotiations with the council in a “friendly and professional” manner were rejected, leaving him no choice but to proceed with legal action.
Howells’ argument
In exclusive comments given to Cointelegraph, Howells expressed frustration over the council’s refusal to meet with him, emphasizing his attempts to resolve the matter amicably:
“The council has been refusing me permission to search, or even refusing to agree to an in-person meeting with the council leaders so that we can discuss the situation in good faith for over 10 years now.”
“Unfortunately, by neglecting to engage in good faith, the council has left me little choice but to issue proceedings against them,” he explained.
Howells believes the council’s environmental concerns — cited as the primary reason for denying his excavation request — are unfounded.
Howells claims to have provided multiple rebuttals to the council’s position, stating that Newport City Council has allegedly breached environmental regulations in recent years. He says this is backed by “100% independently verified evidence.”
“If you look at the Natural Resources Wales compliance reports for the previous four years, Newport City Council has been breaching their landfill permit by leaching arsenic, asbestos, ammonium nitrate and methane gasses into the local environment.”
According to Howells, his proposed excavation and remediation process would not only retrieve the hard drive but also clean up the toxic landfill site at no cost to the council or taxpayers.
Howells said he has contracted FLI Group — a company that specializes in landfill remediation — to manage the project. “FLI Group has remediated multiple landfills throughout the United Kingdom, including a project in Merthyr Tydfil. They are well-versed in environmental regulations and have a proven track record of successful landfill remediation,” he said.
Understanding UK laws
Howells said that under UK law, Bitcoin and other digital assets are classified as personal property, giving him the right to retrieve his lost hard drive.
“The physical hard drive itself is worthless. However, the digital property, the intellectual property (the private key data) is what is valuable,” he said.
“There is a difference under UK law between the two types of property. My claim argues that both the physical property and digital intellectual property still remain with my outright ownership, therefore under the law I should be given permission to recover said property. Or if the land owner continues to refuse me access to recover my legally owned property, then they should compensate me for the value of said property.”
City council responds
Newport City Council, however, has stood firm in its stance.
A statement issued on Oct. 11 and shared with Cointelegraph by a council spokesperson reiterated its position that excavation of the landfill is not possible under current environmental permits:
“The council has told Mr. Howells multiple times that excavation is not possible under our environmental permit and that such work would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.”
The council dismissed Howells’ references to environmental compliance issues as an attempt to distract from what it calls a “fundamentally weak claim.” The statement added that responding to Howells’ repeated requests has cost the council and taxpayers time and money that could be better spent on local services.
“Our monitoring and reporting regime is not related to Mr. Howells’ claim, and we believe the mention of it is nothing more than an attempt to draw attention away from a fundamentally weak claim, which we are vigorously resisting,” the spokesperson added.
The council remains the only body authorized to carry out operations on the landfill site and insists the risks associated with excavation far outweigh any potential benefits.
Legalities ahead
Howells’ case will be heard in court on Dec. 3, when a judge will decide whether Newport City Council must allow him access to the landfill or compensate him for the value of the lost Bitcoin.
Howells remains hopeful for a favorable outcome, citing his legal right to retrieve the digital property as his strongest argument.
“My situation has not changed my views on cryptocurrencies,” Howells said.
“I still promote and advocate Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, and I fully expect it will continue to succeed into the future both in terms of worldwide adoption and market price.”
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