The High Court has rejected a request to stay the main Mariana Dam proceedings against BHP following a high-profile dispute over which firm should represent the claimants.
The decision, made on the papers by Mr Justice Constable, follows a tussle between Pogust Goodhead (PG), which brought the claim against BHP to the High Court and secured a liability judgment last November, and Bailey Glasser International (BGI), which has been appointed by the claimant committee to take over the case for the Stage Two proceedings, when damages are due to be determined.
The request to stay the trial was brought by BGI, while PG, which maintains it is still running the claim, argued that a delay would risk disrupting the litigation timetable for more than 400,000 Brazilian claimants impacted by the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Brazil.
The court order also directed that the firm representing the claimants will be confirmed at an expedited hearing on 5 and 6 October and rejected BGI’s call for it to be held in private. The hearing will be overseen by a different judge.
Constable said the October hearing will focus purely on who is representing the claimants rather than other factors, such as PG’s entitlement to fees, disbursements or debt relief.
The tussle came to light on 31 August when a client committee representing many of the claimants, which is being advised by Humphries Kerstetter, said it had ended PG’s retainer in favour of BGI, where key members of the PG team that advised on the claim in its earlier stages are now based.
Constable received representations from PG, BGI and Humphries Kerstetter as well as HSF Kramer, which is representing the defendants. He confirmed that the litigation will proceed under its existing timetable towards the Stage Two trial, scheduled for April 2027. He allowed for any necessary extensions to the timetable to be addressed through case management applications rather than via a halt to the proceedings.
Alicia Alinia, chief executive officer of Pogust Goodhead, said: “Today’s ruling is an important win for our clients. The court has rejected any attempt to delay this litigation and confirmed that the timetable towards justice remains intact. After almost 11 years, our clients deserve clarity, not delay, and this decision ensures that the question of representation will be resolved quickly and in public, exactly as it should be.”
In June PG announced new funding of £150m for the claim, provided by Gramercy Funds Management, alongside a strategic partnership with Quinn Emanuel as co-counsel, while BGI has teamed up with Hausfeld.
London-based BGI operates under an agreement with US firm Bailey & Glasser. Partners Jeremy Evans and Faranak Ghajavand and senior associate Callum Walters are described by the firm as having been key members of the PG team working on the BHP group litigation. According to UK Companies House filings, Evans assumed significant control of the firm in February.
HSF Kramer, which replaced Slaughter and May last year as adviser to BHP, BGI and Humphries Kerstetter were contacted for comment.
The case continues.
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