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Vale (NYSE:VALE) faces a £3B lawsuit (~$3.8B) in the Netherlands from 77K claimants over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse in Brazil, opening a new front in legal action against the miner and project partner BHP (BHP) over one of the country’s worst-ever environmental disasters, Financial Times reported Tuesday.
A class action lawsuit representing 700K claimants already is being pursued in the U.K. against BHP (BHP) after the rupture of the Fundão mining waste dam caused a giant mudslide that killed 19 people and severely polluted the Rio Doce river.
The Dutch case was launched in the Netherlands against Vale (VALE) and Samarco Iron Ore Europe; lawyers said they had secured an “asset attachment” over shares in Vale’s Dutch subsidiary, preventing the payment of dividends or the sale of shares until a final ruling, according to the report.
A Brazilian federal judge ruled earlier this year that Vale (VALE), BHP (BHP) and the Samarco joint venture must pay 47.6B reais (~$9.4B) in damages to a state fund for the dam burst.