Class action specialist Pogust Goodhead has obtained an English court injunction preventing mining giant BHP Group from seeking to impose limits on a massive civil claim relating to a catastrophic dam collapse in Brazil.
It is the latest court order in the long-running English litigation brought by Pogust Goodhead against London-listed BHP over the 2015 Fundão dam collapse in Brazil which destroyed villages, killed 19 people and released toxic mining waste.
BHP has now been ordered to stop funding legal action in Brazil, which was being pursued by Brazilian Mining Association (IBRAM), of which BHP is a member, at Brazil’s Supreme Court. IBRAM has been seeking to remove 50 municipalities from the multi-billion pound English claim on the basis that their action poses a threat to Brazil’s judicial sovereignty.
The English High Court order, which BHP did not contest, means the company cannot assist IBRAM in its action in Brazil, nor can anyone acting on behalf of, or with the authority of BHP. The Gazette understands IBRAM will continue nonetheless with its claim for judgment in Brazil.
The injunction was dealt with by Mrs Justice O’Farrell during a pre-trial review hearing which also dealt with trial timetables.
The Fundão dam, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, collapsed in 2015 releasing some 40 million cubic metres of tailings from iron ore mining. The collapse and flood killed 19 people, destroyed villages and had a ‘widespread impact’ on individuals and communities, the claimants say.
The dam was owned and operated by Samarco Mineração, a joint venture between BHP and Brazilian iron ore mining company Vale.
Claimants in the group action, one of the largest in English history, include more than 700,000 individuals, 1,600 businesses, 78 churches and faith-based institutions, 46 municipalities, seven utility companies and members of the Krenak indigenous community and Quilombola community.
Pogust Goodhead’s global managing partner Tom Goodhead, acting for the municipalities, said: ‘Our clients are still suffering on a daily basis. We look forward to taking BHP to court in England in October and we are confident that it will finally be held to account.’
A BHP spokesperson said: ‘The undertakings provided to the court address the interaction between the UK action and the legal action taken by IBRAM in Brazil. BHP will continue to defend the UK action and denies the claims in their entirety.’
A 14-week trial is listed to begin in England in October.
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