"Class action juggernaut with $800m war chest is here", 22 February 2024

The law firm leading a $70 billion class action against BHP has landed in Sydney, and says more Australian companies are in its sights.

... Pogust Goodhead ... case against BHP – set to be the largest ever environmental legal claim – heads to trial in October in the UK, Australia’s importance to the fast-growing shop has increased.

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The firm is seeking more than $70 billion in damages from BHP and its partner, Vale, arising from the Samarco mine disaster, which resulted in the deaths of 19 people, destroyed villages and contaminated waterways and agricultural land.

More than 700,000 claimants are joined to the action.

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Pogust Goodhead said it anticipates its case will proceed to trial in October, after a UK court in 2022 found there was minimal overlap between the two proceedings.

In its half-year results released on Tuesday, BHP recognised a charge of $US3.2 billion partly relating to a January ruling in the Federal Court of Brazil which found the miner was jointly liable for $US9.75 billion in “moral damages” relating to the dam collapse.

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