English judge blocks $6.6 billion Brazil lawsuit against BHP over burst dam

LONDON: A 5.0 billion pound ($6.6 billion) English lawsuit against Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP has been struck out, in a blow to a 200,000-strong Brazilian claimant group seeking damages after a devastating dam failure in 2015.

A High Court judge in Manchester ruled that managing the largest group claim in English legal history would be like "trying to build a house of cards in a wind tunnel" and the case was an "abuse of the process of the court".

BHP welcomed the decision, which it said reinforced its view that victims should pursue claims in Brazil and that the case duplicated ongoing work and legal proceedings there.

Tom Goodhead, a lawyer at PGMBM representing the claimants, called the judgment "fundamentally flawed" and vowed to appeal. "We will continue to fight ceaselessly, for however long it takes, in any court in the world, to ensure that BHP are held accountable for their actions," he said.