"Court of Appeal rejects BHP appeal attempt in landmark Brazilian dam case", 7 May 2026

In the latest milestone in the Mariana Dam litigation, described by Fraser LJ as the “very definition of a heavy case”, BHP has failed in its application for permission to appeal the November 2025 judgment of O’Farrell J.

The Court of Appeal had taken the unusual step of directing an oral hearing before a two-person panel (Lewison and Fraser LJJ). Having heard argument and reserved judgment, it went on to reject BHP’s application in unusually robust terms...

The Stage 2 trial, to address questions of causation and quantum in relation to a selection of lead claimants, will commence in April 2027.