An update on the Mariana litigation in the English courts

The Client Committee is a body of client representatives set up under the Litigation Management Agreement (LMA) to take strategic decisions and give instructions on behalf of most of the clients in the Mariana litigation in England, including all individuals, indigenous and Quilombola claimants, religious institutions and some businesses. Its authority comes from the LMA, a contract governed by the law of England and Wales that sits alongside the clients' fee agreements. The Committee is made up of representatives drawn from the different categories and regions of affected people. Members' identities are kept confidential to protect their independence when taking decisions.

On 28 August 2026, the Client Committee decided to bring the client group's relationship with Pogust Goodhead to an end and to appoint Bailey Glasser International. The change in legal representation was supported by a unanimous decision of the Client Committee. Pogust Goodhead disputes that the Committee had authority to take that decision, and the question will be decided by the English Court following a hearing on 5 and 6 October 2026.

The Client Committee’s position is that, under the governing contracts (the Litigation Management Agreement (LMA) and the Collective Conditional Fee Agreement (CCFA)), it has authority to take this decision on behalf of its client group. Pogust Goodhead disputes that. The question is now before the English Court, and both parties will present their positions at a hearing on 5 and 6 October 2026, after which the Court will decide which firm represents the claimants. For one group of claimants - the members of the Client Committee, and those claimants who are protected parties represented by a litigation friend who sits on the Client Committee - it is not in dispute that BGI now acts. For the remaining claimants, the position will be decided by the Court. In the meantime, and whatever the outcome, your claim continues.

The Committee acts for individual claimants, indigenous and Quilombola communities, religious institutions, and businesses retained under the Collective Conditional Fee Agreement (CCFA). That represents the vast majority of claimants in the English action. Pogust Goodhead disputes the Committee’s authority to change those claimants’ legal representation, and that question is before the English Court.

Some claimants hold their own separate representation agreements, for example municipalities, utility companies, and businesses retained under a Damages Based Agreement. For such claimants, the committee’s decision will not apply.

Following the Client Committee’s decision on 28 August 2026, Bailey Glasser International is the firm appointed by the Client Committee to represent the vast majority of claimants in the Mariana litigation. The firm is a joint venture with the US firm Bailey & Glasser LLP, and is supported by Hausfeld & Co LLP in London with conducting the litigation. It should be noted that Pogust Goodhead has disputed the Committee’s authority to make this decision.

Bailey Glasser International is a trading name of Edward McCourt & Company LLP, which operates in London as a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under company number OC421154, and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA number 647685.

Bailey Glasser International is not registered to practise law in Brazil; where advice on Brazilian law is required, this should be provided by a lawyer duly admitted to practise in Brazil.

Your case will be handled by an experienced legal team that includes lawyers with many years’ experience on the case and deep knowledge of the litigation. Bailey Glasser International is supported in conducting the litigation in London by Hausfeld & Co LLP.

Your Brazilian lawyer remains separately responsible for providing any advice or clarification that may be required on matters of Brazilian law.

See the profiles

We are now inviting you to complete a short online process (only a few minutes). You will be asked to confirm that you are a claimant in the Mariana Litigation, provide basic information, and read and agree a short declaration supporting the Committee's decision. You will then be given access to a secure Client Portal to follow your claim.

The process is open now, and where relevant, your Brazilian lawyer can assist you with questions concerning Brazilian law.

You are asked to confirm or update some contact and case details. Any information you give is collected securely and with your consent. We may also be able to obtain relevant information directly from Pogust Goodhead.

There is no cost to you simply as a result of the Committee's decision. Your claim continues on the same basis as before: you pay nothing up front, and fees are only payable if your claim succeeds, out of the sums recovered from the Defendants.

Pogust Goodhead has said that, in certain circumstances, it may be entitled to charges and disbursements for the work it has done. That is disputed. It is one of the matters that may have to be resolved between the firms or, if necessary, by the English Court. BGI will deal with that dispute on your behalf.

If you have any questions about this before signing the declaration, please contact us or seek independent legal advice.

This webpage is BGI’s official channel for information about the case, and we will post updates here as soon as we are able to. Any social media account operated by BGI carries the same information as this page.

If you are unsure about anything you read about the case, please check the position here or ask us.

Relevant information will also be made available to your Brazilian lawyer, where relevant and once their details have been confirmed.

Not in substance. The Mariana Litigation continues. The team’s priority is continuity for the claimants. Changing the firm that has conduct of the case does not reset or restart the proceedings.

The Court is now managing the issues arising from the change of firm. That does not affect the substance of your claim, although it is possible that dealing with these issues affects parts of the timetable.

The trial on loss and damage remains listed to begin in April 2027, and we will tell you here if that changes.

The English High Court found BHP liable for the disaster in November 2025, and in May 2026 the Court of Appeal refused BHP permission to appeal, so the finding on liability can no longer be challenged. The case is now in the phase that deals with issues of causation, loss and damages (quantum), and the trial on these matters is listed to begin in April 2027 and to run until March 2028.

No. The Mariana Litigation continues, and the transition is designed to protect it. The decision was seen by the Clients’ Committee to be in the best interests of the claimants it represents. The question of which firm represents you is being resolved by the Court, and your claim continues while that happens. The Stage 2 trial remains listed to begin in April 2027.

The proceedings in the Dutch courts against Vale S.A. and Samarco's Dutch subsidiary are a separate matter from the English litigation against BHP that this webpage concerns. The Client Committee's decision does not relate to the clients in the Dutch proceedings.

A dispute has arisen about which law firm represents the claimants following the Client Committee's decision to appoint BGI in place of Pogust Goodhead. Two claims have been filed to resolve it: one by Pogust Goodhead, which disputes the Committee's authority to make the change, and one by the Client Committee, seeking the Court's confirmation that the change is valid. The Court is now managing those claims together. For the avoidance of doubt, these claims are separate to the main Mariana Litigation.

The Court has directed that the question be dealt with quickly. A hearing is listed to take place on 5 and 6 October 2026 to decide which firm represents the claimants. We will post any significant developments here as soon as we are able to.

No. The dispute is about legal representation, not about the merits of your claim or BHP's liability, which has already been established. Your claim continues while the Court resolves the question, and the Stage 2 (quantum) trial remains listed to begin in April 2027. The Court has not ordered the case to be paused. It is possible that resolving the dispute affects parts of the timetable, and we will tell you here if the trial date changes.

The declaration is a short statement that we will invite each client to complete. In it, you confirm that you support the Client Committee’s decision to appoint BGI and that you are content for BGI to act for you in the Mariana Litigation. You also record your support for BGI in exploring all available options to secure payment for you at the earliest opportunity and taking whatever steps it considers appropriate and in your best interests to do so.

Signing the declaration records your support for the change of legal representation. It does not change your entitlement to compensation. Each declaration is confirmatory and evidential only - it helps to demonstrate that clients support the transition - and does not, by itself, alter the legal basis on which the change was made.

Your claim does not fall away simply because you have not signed it.