Court of appeal judgment allows £5bn lawsuit against mining giant BHP by more than 200,000 victims of 2015 Mariana dam disaster
More than 200,000 victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster will have their case heard in a UK court, making it the largest group claim in English legal history.– one of the biggest companies in the world – for their involvement in the collapse of the Mariana dam in 2015, which released toxic mining waste down 400 miles of waterways along the Doce River. Claimants are seeking at least £5bn in compensation.
The judgment said compensation being paid in Brazil did not seem adequate. It stated: “The vast majority of claimants who have recovered damages have only received very modest sums in respect of moral damages for interruption to their water supply … The claimants should be permitted now to proceed with the claims in the action.
PGMBM filed the lawsuit in England in 2018. In July last year it reopened the case after an earlier ruling by the high court denied jurisdiction for English courts to hear the case.
In Brazil, BHP, along with the Brazilian iron-ore mining company Vale, and Samarco, the joint venture company responsible for managing the Fundão tailings dam, established the, which aims to provide compensation for individuals and some small businesses for loss and damages, as well as mitigating the environmental impacts of the disaster. According to a BHP spokesperson, by the end of this year about $5.
A BHP spokesperson said: “We will review the judgment and consider our next steps, which may include an application for permission to appeal to the supreme court. We will continue to defend the action, which we believe remains unnecessary as it duplicates matters already covered by the existing and ongoing work of the Renova Foundation under the supervision of the Brazilian courts and legal proceedings in Brazil.
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