A class action lawsuit is making headway against the companies involved in the catastrophic collapse of the Marina Dam. The trial in London’s High Court is scheduled to commence on 7 October 2024, with an anticipated duration of 11 weeks. This case represents the largest opt-in group action to be presented before the English courts.

The Fundão tailings dam was constructed by Samarco, a mining company, near Mariana, a municipality 67 kilometers (42 mi) southeast of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A tailings dam is an embankment dam constructed from earth materials, designed to contain the byproducts generated from mining activities following the separation of ore from waste material. The tailings may exist in liquid, solid, or slurry form consisting of fine particles, and are usually highly toxic and potentially radioactive.

On 5 November 2015, the Fundão Dam collapsed, unleashing 60 million cubic meters of iron ore waste and mud. The disaster resulted in the loss of 19 lives and has been characterized as “the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history.” Approximately 600 people lost their homes. In August 2016, a report commissioned by Samarco concluded that the tailings dam’s collapse was attributable to poor drainage and design but it “did not assign blame or highlight specific errors in corporate or regulatory practice”.

Vale and BHP Billiton own Samarco as a joint venture, with each company possessing a 50% stake. Vale is a Brazilian company and the world’s largest iron ore producer. At the time of the dam disaster BHP, the largest mining company in the world, was headquartered and listed in London. In January 2022, BHP gave up its London Stock Exchange listing, becoming a solely Australian Securities Exchange-listed company with headquarters in Melbourne.

The lawsuit was initially filed in 2018; however, it encountered delays as BHP contended that the English courts lacked jurisdiction over an incident that occurred in a foreign nation. Additionally, BHP claimed that the case, which began with approximately 200,000 claimants and rapidly expanded to over 700,000, was “unmanageable” for the court.

The law firm Pogust Goodhead has taken on the representation of the claimants – individuals, local councils, Indigenous communities, small enterprises, and churches – concerning the dam failure.

The lawsuit concerning the Marina Dam represents the most recent case addressing the question of whether a multinational corporation can be held accountable in its country of origin for the conduct of its foreign subsidiaries.

In November 2023 the High Court ruled that a group of Nigerian fishermen and farmers can bring claims for breaches of their right to a clean environment under Nigerian constitutional law. The presiding judge concluded that it is arguable that pollution caused by Shell has severely infringed upon the villagers’ right to a clean environment, as outlined in both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter. Furthermore, these constitutional rights are directly enforceable and can be invoked against corporations such as Shell. Notably, these claims are not subject to any limitation period, which means that Shell cannot avoid liability by asserting that the communities failed to submit their claims within a specified timeframe. The trial is now expected to take place in 2025.