Global mining giant faces US$12 billion damages trial in UK over Brazil dam collapse
- More than 400,000 claimants could join the compensation claim against the Australian company over the tragedy that killed 19 people in 2015
- The dam in the Minas Gerais region ruptured, flooding 39 towns, polluting hundreds of kilometres of river, in one of the worst environmental disasters in Brazil
International mining firm BHP must stand trial in the UK to face an estimated £10 billion (US$12 billion) damages claim over a deadly 2015 dam collapse in Brazil, a judge has ruled.
More than 400,000 claimants could eventually join the compensation claim against the Australian company in London’s High Court over the tragedy at an iron ore tailings dam that killed 19 people.
It will be the largest group litigation in English civil court history, according to law firm Pogust Goodhead, which is leading the case on their behalf.
The 2015 tragedy unfolded after the dam in the Minas Gerais region ruptured. It resulted in the deaths of 19 people, the flooding of 39 towns, and the polluting of hundreds of kilometres of river, in one of the worst environmental disasters Brazil has ever seen.
Following several years of preliminary court hearings, judge Finola O’Farrell ruled in a judgment published on Wednesday that the case must go to trial.
