BHP’s record-breaking Samarco dam trial kicks off at the High Court
The most significant action of its kind will kick off in the High Court on Monday. Mining giant BHP faces a multi-billion pound lawsuit over its role in the deadly Samarco dam disaster.
On 5 November 2015 the Fundão dam in the south-east of Brazil, operated by Samarco, a 50:50 joint venture owned by BHP and peer Vale, failed and unleashed a deluge of thick, red toxic mud that wiped out the village of Bento Rodrigues.
The dam was holding back mining waste, known as “tailings.”
The collapse of the Fundão dam killed 19 people and is the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history.
In 2018, law firm Pogust Goodhead launched a group lawsuit in England against the dam owners on behalf of over 700,000 people affected by the disaster.
The case has been in and out of the courts over the past four years, with jurisdiction in the spotlight, as the mining companies argued against it being heard in an English court.
In 2020, the High Court ruled in favour of BHP and struck out the group action as an abuse of process, citing, among other things, its sheer size.
However, in a twist, the Court of Appeal overturned this ruling in 2022 after it ruled the findings of abuse were unsustainable.
Last year, BHP applied to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision but was denied the right to have its case heard.
The number of claimants now stands at 640,000 people. The case is estimated to be worth £36bn, a high water mark by accountancy firm Kroll, as instructed by the claimant law firm.
In a media briefing, Tom Goodhead, global managing partner of Pogust Goodhead, noted that BHP’s legal fees have already surpassed £100m.
BHP has magic circle law firm Slaughter and May, while Vale has US firm White & Case on for its defence.
This trial, which kicks off on Monday, will focus on liability. It will be in court for 12 weeks and conclude on 5 March 2025, accounting for court closures during Christmas.
Earlier this year, a federal judge in Brazil ordered the mining giants and their Samarco joint venture to pay 47.6bn reais (£6.4bn) in damages for the deadly dam burst.