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Highlights
- BHP Group has lost an appeal in an English court against pursue of an AU$8.8 billion class action claim against the mining giant.
- BHP Group is now seeking help from the Supreme Court on the Brazil dam case.
- Shares of BHP were trading in the red following the news.
In a set back for global mining giant BHP Group (ASX:BHP), an English Court of Appeal has granted its permission to more than 200,000 Brazilian litigants to pursue an AU$8.8 billion class action against the mining giant over the 2015 Samarco dam failure. BHP is now seeking help from the Supreme Court regarding the Brazil dam case, according to an ASX filing.
On Friday (8 July 2022), the company informed that its appeal in a London court to stop an AU$8.8 billion lawsuit over the dam failure that resulted in Brazil’s largest environmental disaster, was rejected by the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, shares of BHP were trading 1.27% lower at AU$38.72 per share on ASX on Monday (11 July 2022) at 11.09 AM AEST. This is in line with the ASX 200 Materials Index, which was 1.29% lower at 15,050.60 points.
What Fundao dam case is all about
19 people were killed when the Fundao dam, which is controlled by the Samarco partnership between BHP and the largest iron ore mine in Brazil, Vale, collapsed.
Villages along its route were destroyed by the more than 40 million cubic metres of mud and mining debris that washed into the Doce river and reached the Atlantic Ocean that was more than 650 kilometres away.
Brazilian individuals, organisations, churches, towns, and indigenous people, like the Krenak, who used to depend on the river for water, food, and livelihood, are represented in the lawsuit by the law firm PGMBM.
Source: Kontakt5956 | Megapixl.com
BHP eyes Supreme Court appeal in the UK
In connection with the Samarco dam disaster on 5 November 2015, a group action lawsuit in the United Kingdom (UK) named BHP Group Limited and BHP Group UK (Ltd) as defendants. Following the collapse of the Samarco dam, a class action lawsuit has been filed in Brazil to seek compensation for individuals, municipalities, private companies, and other organisations.
The High Court's judgement to dismiss the group action as an abuse of process on 9 November 2020 was appealed by the claimants in the group action to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal decided to grant the appeal. The verdict reverses the High Court's earlier ruling and permits the group action to proceed in the UK. BHP is debating whether to get permission from the UK Supreme Court to appeal the ruling.
The verdict does not address the validity of the claims filed in the class action. It is concerned with the initial issue of whether the class action lawsuit against BHP in the UK can go forward.
The company in an ASX filing said, through the Renova Foundation, BHP Brasil has been supporting regional remediation initiatives in Brazil. Over 376,000 people have already received direct financial assistance and compensation, totalling BRL9.8 billion (£1.5 billion) due to the dam catastrophe, BHP informed.
BHP will continue to support the UK group action even though it replicates work already being done by the Renova Foundation and is already a subject of ongoing legal actions in Brazil.
