Elliott Hodgkin
29 October 2024
Several Brazilian firms have advised mining companies BHP and Vale on a US$23 billion compensation agreement for the victims of the 2015 Mariana dam disaster.
Vale enlisted Azevedo Sette Advogados, Bermudes Advogados and Santana de Vasconcellos to negotiate the settlement.
BHP called on Mattos Filho and Xavier Vasconcelos Advogados. Mattos Filho advised on the settlement negotations since they began in 2021. Xavier Vasconcelos provided assistance on administrative, regulatory and environmental issues.
Machado Meyer Advogados advised Samarco, the company that operates the dam and which is jointly owned by BHP and Vale.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the agreement at a ceremony at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasília on 25 October.
The agreement aims to provide compensation to over 300,000 individuals affected by the structural failure of the Fundão dam in the state of Minas Gerais, which resulted in 19 deaths and severe environmental damage.
The settlement includes a commitment of U$17.5 billion to local authorities over a span of 20 years, as well as US$6.4 billion designated for victim compensation and environmental restoration efforts.
The agreement is the result of three years of negotiations between BHP, Vale, the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo and the federal government.
President Lula said at the signing ceremony that works to prevent the dam’s collapse would have been “infinitely cheaper” than the settlement and hoped the mining companies involved had “learned their lesson.”
While the payout marks a step toward addressing the needs of those affected, some 620,000 claimants have initiated a separate class action lawsuit in the UK. They are seeking nearly US$47 billion in damages in a lawsuit against parent company BHP.
The 12-week hearing for that case began last week at the High Court of Justice in London.
Counsel to BHP
In-house counsel – Emir Calluf Filho, Paulo Chung, Fernanda Bortolini, Gustavo Wypych, Emily Westphalen, Marcelo Schwartzmann, Natalia Rodrigues, Ana Clara Moreira and Henrique Borges
Mattos Filho
Partners Eduardo Damião Gonçalves, Maricí Giannico, Ricardo Junqueira and Rômulo Sampaio, and associates Diogo Coimbra, Solange Cunha and Marina Bastos
Xavier Vasconcelos Advogados
Partners Beto Vasconcelos, Eduardo Xavier and Carla de Ávila Nascimento, and associate Betina Le Grazie
Counsel to Samarco
In-house counsel – Felipe Morgan, Najla Ribeiro Nazar Lamounier, Rodrigo Campos and Laura Sarti Mozelli
Machado Meyer Advogados
Partners Eduardo de Campos Ferreira, Paulo Eduardo Leite Marino, Eliane Carvalho and Roberta Danelon Leonhardt
Counsel to Vale
In-house counsel – Alexandre DAmbrosio, Humberto Moraes Pinheiro, Lílian Simões, Diego de Matos Costa, Bruno Passos, Luiz Couto, Octávio Bulcão, Stan Klein and Cecilia Chaves
Azevedo Sette Advogados
Partner Leonardo Lamego
Bermudes Advogados
Partners Luis Tomás Alves de Andrade and Thaís Vasconcellos de Sá Berga
Santana de Vasconcellos Advogados
Partner Bernardo Santana de Vasconcellos