Mariana dam victims' committee replaces legal counsel in UK lawsuit

A committee representing thousands of Brazilian victims of the 2015 Fundão dam collapse has decided to replace the law firm Pogust Goodhead with the U.S.-based Bailey Glasser International in a legal action in England. The lawsuit seeks £36 billion in compensation from the mining giant BHP, which held a 50% stake in Samarco at the time of the disaster.

The decision has triggered a legal battle in the English courts. Pogust Goodhead challenges the committee's legitimacy to make the substitution, claiming it holds individual contracts with the victims. Conversely, the committee alleges that the firm breached contractual commitments, justifying the change.

Judge Adam Constable has ordered the related legal actions to be unified and scheduled a hearing for October to determine the committee's authority to select legal representatives. The 2015 disaster resulted in 19 deaths, displaced over 2,000 people, and caused extensive environmental damage.