Brazil Dam Victims Lose Lawyer Swap on 12 October
BRAZIL · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and a top iron ore exporter, home to the 2015 Mariana dam collapse that killed 19 people.
- —What happened On Monday, 12 October, a court in England ruled that a committee of victims cannot replace the law firm running their claim against BHP.
- —The case More than 400,000 Brazil dam victims are suing BHP in London for £36 billion (about US$48 billion) over the collapse.
- —Who stays The British firm Pogust Goodhead, which is reverting to its older name PGMBM, keeps the case for now.
- —Who lost The committee wanted the US firm Bailey Glasser International, which said it shares the victims’ disappointment.
- —What it means for you BHP and its Samarco partner Vale both have shares listed in New York, so the case touches US investors.
- —Still open The written judgment has not been published, and the committee has not said whether it will appeal.
Brazil dam victims suing the miner BHP in London cannot fire their law firm as a group, an English court ruled on Monday, 12 October. The decision keeps the British firm Pogust Goodhead in charge of a £36 billion (about US$48 billion) claim.
The claim stems from the 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam near Mariana, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It matters to US investors because BHP and its Brazilian partner Vale both have shares traded in New York.
What the Court in England Decided
The ruling concerns the Mariana Litigation Clients’ Committee, a 17-member group created in 2022 to speak for the victims to their lawyers. It is chaired by Marcelo Krenak, an Indigenous leader from Brazil.
The court found that the committee cannot replace the lawyers for all Brazil dam victims at once, the news site O Fator reports. The national agency Folhapress, in a report carried by Tribuna Online, says the High Court in England refused the swap.
In practice, Pogust Goodhead stays in charge of the case. The committee had voted on 28 August to hand it to Bailey Glasser International, or BGI, an American law firm.
BGI said it received the decision with disappointment. “Our commitment to the victims and to their fight for justice remains unchanged,” the firm said, as quoted by O Fator.
The committee will now weigh its next steps with its lawyers, with BGI’s full support, both outlets report. It says it has repeatedly raised “serious concerns” about how the case is being run, Folhapress reports.
Why the Victims Wanted a New Law Firm
The committee argued that it could choose the firm and that Pogust Goodhead had broken its contractual commitments. Pogust Goodhead replied that it holds individual contracts with every victim, and that each client chooses their own lawyer.
Had the committee won, BGI could have taken over the case directly. Now it would need to sign contracts with each victim one by one, a step the committee called unworkable, O Fator reports.
Tom Goodhead co-founded Pogust Goodhead and launched the claim in 2018, but was later ousted as chief executive. He joined BGI in September with more than 15 lawyers, the legal news site Non-Billable reports.
Both founders objected to the firm using their names. Non-Billable reported on 9 October that the firm would return to its former trading name, PGMBM, to give clients continuity.
Live Market IntelligenceBrazil — Live Market Board
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Brazil — Live Market Board
+1.38%
209,066.90
+1.38%
66,746.78
+1.06%
11,043.36
+0.17%
2,828,027
-0.16%
2,531.15
+0.00%
60,956.11
-0.51%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 209,066.90 | +1.38% | +21.85% | 206,220.24 | 168,310 | 167,142 | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.16 | +0.01% | -5.13% | 5.16 | 5.18 | 5.14 | — |
| SELIC | 14.00% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| PETR4 | 41.64 | -0.05% | +35.19% | 41.66 | 41.97 | 41.15 | 41,499,400 |
| VALE3 | 72.97 | +0.83% | +30.75% | 72.37 | 73.54 | 72.66 | 17,658,000 |
| ITUB4 | 38.60 | -1.03% | +4.57% | 39.00 | 39.34 | 38.39 | 29,487,800 |
| BBDC4 | 16.85 | +0.36% | +3.50% | 16.79 | 16.90 | 16.67 | 19,416,900 |
| BBAS3 | 19.37 | +0.47% | +0.73% | 19.28 | 19.44 | 19.16 | 11,069,200 |
| B3SA3 | 14.26 | -0.21% | +12.73% | 14.29 | 14.47 | 14.11 | 33,037,800 |
| ABEV3 | 14.89 | -0.80% | +21.91% | 15.01 | 15.07 | 14.81 | 16,453,100 |
| WEGE3 | 47.59 | +0.49% | +29.99% | 47.36 | 48.08 | 47.36 | 3,364,600 |
| PRIO3 | 59.14 | -0.19% | +50.67% | 59.25 | 59.81 | 58.74 | 3,325,600 |
| SUZB3 | 41.33 | +2.35% | -23.55% | 40.38 | 41.48 | 40.35 | 3,914,900 |
| RENT3 | 34.68 | -0.09% | +0.84% | 34.71 | 34.96 | 34.35 | 7,979,100 |
| AZZA3 | 15.89 | -2.63% | -53.76% | 16.32 | 16.42 | 15.82 | 1,330,300 |
| CSNA3 | 4.30 | +0.47% | -42.65% | 4.28 | 4.41 | 4.26 | 10,076,100 |
| GGBR4 | 24.69 | +2.19% | +51.38% | 24.16 | 24.85 | 24.18 | 7,047,600 |
| ENEV3 | 24.21 | -1.38% | +70.49% | 24.55 | 24.64 | 23.99 | 9,297,000 |
The Case Against BHP
BHP, the Australian mining giant, owned half of Samarco, the company that ran the Fundão dam. The collapse in November 2015 released a flood of mining waste that killed 19 people and left more than 2,000 homeless.
The English court has already found BHP liable for the disaster. The phase that sets how much Brazil dam victims receive is expected to begin in April 2027, according to Folhapress.
Victims who accepted compensation deals in Brazil are not part of the London group. Samarco itself was convicted on appeal in Brazil over the collapse, as Rio Times reported on 6 September.
What It Means for You
For investors, the ruling removes a source of delay in the case and keeps the current legal team in place. BHP and Vale both trade in New York, so the size and timing of any award matter to their shareholders.
Pogust Goodhead had warned that switching firms could expose Brazil dam victims to more than £2 billion (about US$2.6 billion) in legal costs, Non-Billable reports. The firm is also funded by a US investment manager.
O Fator reports that the firm still awaits the second instalment of a US$150 million financing deal. That payment could have been at risk if the firm had lost the victims as clients, so the ruling eases the pressure on it.
What Is Not Known
The written judgment had not appeared in the official database of English court decisions by early Tuesday, 13 October. The reports do not name the judge who signed the ruling.
The committee has not said whether it will appeal. The reports carry no statement from BHP or Vale, and PGMBM had not answered O Fator’s questions when the site published its story.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Mariana dam disaster?
In November 2015, the Fundão tailings dam near Mariana, in Minas Gerais, collapsed. The flood of mining waste killed 19 people and left more than 2,000 homeless.
Who is being sued in London?
The claim targets BHP, which owned half of Samarco, the company that ran the dam. Vale, the Brazilian mining company, owned the other half.
What did the court decide on 12 October?
It ruled that the committee cannot replace the law firm for all Brazil dam victims at once. Pogust Goodhead, now reverting to the name PGMBM, keeps the case.
Does the ruling change BHP’s liability?
No. The English court has already found BHP liable, and the hearings that set compensation amounts are expected to start in April 2027.
Sources: O Fator, 12 October 2026; Tribuna Online (Folhapress), 12 October 2026; Non-Billable, 7 October 2026; Non-Billable, 9 October 2026.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief