Município de Mariana and others v BHP Group (UK) Limited and BHP Group Limited

Decisions and steps

1. 14 November 2025BHP found liable under Brazilian law. Judgment and summary published by the judiciary^S1S9
2. January 2026High Court refuses permission to appeal^S7
3. 6 May 2026Court of Appeal refuses permission to appeal on liability^S2

Claims this case bears on

• Contradicted95
  BHP argued at trial in London that it was not a polluter under Brazilian environmental law and breached no legal duty, so it was not liable for the Fundao dam failure.
  Company statement, 14 November 20255 records citedSafety
• Supported95
  Reuters reported in November 2025 that London's High Court ruled BHP liable for the 2015 Fundao dam collapse in Brazil.
  Press report, 14 November 20253 records citedSafety
• Unresolved59
  BHP said in November 2025 that the UK group action duplicates remediation and compensation already provided in Brazil or available under the Brazil agreement.
  Company statement, 14 November 20252 records citedSafety

Sources

1. S1Tier A Município De Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Limited & Anor [2025] EWHC 3001 (TCC)High Court of Justice, Technology and Construction Court. Court judgment. 14 November 2025.Liability judgment. Supports BHP's pleaded position at paragraph 8 and the court's dam findings at paragraph 225. The online text read stopped near paragraph 234, so the liability conclusions were not read directly.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
2. S9Tier A Municipio de Mariana -v- BHP Group (judgment and summary)Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Court judgment. 14 November 2025.Official judiciary page for the liability judgment and its summary. It confirms the citation, case numbers, judge and date. The summary text could not be extracted for this record.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
3. S7Tier C BHP can't appeal UK judgment over 2015 Brazil dam collapseReuters (via Engineering News). Press report. 6 May 2026.Reuters report on the Court of Appeal refusal, the January 2026 High Court refusal and the April 2027 damages trial.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
4. S2Tier A Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group (UK) Ltd & Anor [2026] EWCA Civ 502Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Civil Division). Court judgment. 6 May 2026.Refuses permission to appeal on strict liability at paragraph 87 and treats the fault ground as not reasonably arguable. Paragraph 7 places the next trial in the second part of 2027 into 2028. The limitation section was not read.Link working, checked 25 October 2026