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Court of Appeal refuses permission to appeal in Fundão Dam Litigation: Município de Mariana v BHP Group (UK) Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 502

Posted: 13/05/2026

On 6 May 2026, the Court of Appeal refused permission for the Defendants to the Mariana dam litigation to appeal the High Court’s judgment on liability. 

The Court of Appeal’s decision is a reminder of how difficult it is to appeal findings of fact (here, the Judge’s foreign law findings) and indicates the appellate courts may be particularly reluctant to overturn such findings in long and technical “heavy cases” involving significant expert and fact evidence.

This litigation is one of the largest class actions in England and Wales, with over 600,000 Claimants seeking compensation for losses suffered as a result of environmental damage resulting from the dam collapse. The proceedings in England and Wales are brought against the ultimate parent companies of the dam operator (Samarco), being BHP UK Limited and BHP Australia Limited. Jurisdiction in England and Wales was founded on the corporate listing of those companies in the UK at the time of collapse.

Anna Dannreuther looks at the implications of this judgment here.

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