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BHP Set to Face $7 Billion UK Suit Over Deadly Dam Collapse

  • Judges ruled the UK case with 200,000 claimants could go ahead
  • Overturns decision that case in UK, Brazil would be ‘chaos’
The Bento Rodrigues district, one of the worst affected by The Fundão Dam collapse. 

The Bento Rodrigues district, one of the worst affected by The Fundão Dam collapse. 

Photographer: Gustavo Basso/NurPhoto/Getty Images

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UK judges paved the way for a group of more than 200,000 people to bring a suit against BHP Group Ltd. over its role in the deadly collapse of a mining dam in Brazil.

The appeal judges overturned a lower court ruling blocking it from taking place in the UK, saying the trial could provide “a real and legitimate” advantage to the claimants. The group was pushing to sue the mining giant in the UK, seeking at least $7 billion in damages in what would be one of the biggest class actions in the country’s history.