Ex-Brazil envoy slams London Mariana dam lawsuit as ‘undermining justice’
Brazil’s former Ambassador to the UK has condemned the ongoing legal battle over the BHP disaster in the London High Court, suggesting it undermines Brazil’s judicial system and sovereignty.
Rubens Barbosa exclusively spoke to City PM after the Brazilian Supreme Court formally notified the English High Court of the nearly $30bn (£23bn) settlement reached between BHP, Vale, Samarco, and Brazilian authorities.
The communication regarding the settlement was formally transmitted via the Brazilian Embassy in London.
On 5 November 2015, the Fundão dam in the south-east of Brazil, operated by Samarco, a 50:50 joint venture owned by BHP and peer Vale, failed and unleashed a deluge of thick, red toxic mud that wiped out the village of Bento Rodrigues.
The collapse of the Fundão dam killed 19 people and is the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history.
A landmark class action trial went ahead at London’s High Court in October against Anglo-Australian mining firm BHP, led by international law firm Pogust Goodhead and is set to run into February next year.
However, the former Ambassador has come out to characterise the proceedings as redundant and potentially harmful to Brazil’s efforts to resolve the matter locally.
“This action by the Brazilian Supreme Court and the Embassy in London is unprecedented,” Barbosa told City PM.
“There are fears that the action in the High Court in London undermines the Brazilian justice system, encroaching on Brazilian sovereignty. By notifying the court of the settlement in Brazil, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry stresses that the case in London duplicates local efforts to resolve the issue,” he added.
This follows last month’s announcement that Pogust Goodhead plans to cut approximately 150 jobs, or 20 per cent of its workforce, across its London and Brazil offices. It was cited that the layoffs are a result of financial difficulties caused by unpredictable revenue from large group claims.
Hitting back at the comments, Tom Goodhead of Pogust Goodhead, stated: “These comments are ill informed both as to the issue of jurisdiction having been comprehensively determined by the English courts and also the obligations of a law firm such as Pogust Goodhead to advise its clients as to the consequences of entering into any settlement agreement; particularly in the context of transnational litigation.”
“As Justice Barroso, the president of the STF, and numerous Brazilian judges, politicians and public prosecutors and defenders have recognised, the litigation brought in England has been a primary driver of BHP’s settlement with the Brazilian authorities.”
“Pogust Goodhead’s clients are, however, concerned that the large bulk of the Brazilian settlement will go to governments (federal and state), rather than directly to the victims, and the amounts offered to victims are still far too low for the vast majority of claimants in the English case,” he added.