After Braskem SA found liable for disaster in Maceió, Brazilian victims appeal to Dutch court against European subsidiaries
Appeal was filed on Tuesday (24) in the Netherlands; in 2024, the Rotterdam court ruled in favour of victims and ordered compensation to be paid after land subsidence caused by rock salt mining
Almost a year after Braskem SA was found guilty in the Dutch court for the sinking of neighbourhoods in Maceió, Brazil, victims who filed the lawsuit filed an appeal to hold the petrochemical company’s European subsidiaries liable as well. The appeal was filed by the plaintiffs on Tuesday (24) in the Netherlands.
In July 2024, the Rotterdam court concluded that Braskem SA is responsible for the extensive socio-environmental disaster caused to many Maceió residents and ordered the company to pay compensation to the plaintiffs, the amounts of which are yet to be determined. Now the victims are seeking to hold Braskem’s Dutch subsidiaries accountable, which profited from and contributed to the Brazilian company’s operations in Maceió. Braskem has also filed grounds of appeal in relation to Braskem S.A.’s found liability by the Dutch Courts.
The parties have until October 2025 to file their counterarguments to their opponents’ appeal. The Dutch court is expected to rule on the appeals as early as 2026.
The lawsuit is being brought by nine residents of Maceió affected by the tragedy, represented by the international law firm Pogust Goodhead and the Dutch law firm Lemstra Van der Korst. The victims filed the lawsuit against Braskem SA and some of its subsidiaries in the Netherlands in 2020, seeking compensation after rock salt mining in the region opened craters in Maceió, the capital of Alagoas (a coastal region of Brazil) and caused neighbourhoods to sink. Thousands of others affected have already expressed interest in filing lawsuits seeking compensation.
Following the ruling holding Braskem SA liable, Pogust Goodhead CEO and managing partner Tom Goodhead noted that the court’s decision represents an important step forward for the case. “It is a strong reminder to multinationals that, no matter where they operate, they cannot harm the lives and livelihoods of local communities with impunity. The affected neighbourhoods in Maceió look like a war zone. What happened there is another example of large companies taking what they want from the land in Brazil, destroying local communities and the environment while making huge profits”, he said.
The collaboration between Dutch law firm Lemstra Van der Korst (LVDK) and international law firm Pogust Goodhead have promoted efforts in the Netherlands to seek justice and redress in a series of cases involving environmental damage and human rights violations around the world.
Specialising in class actions, Pogust Goodhead law firm is responsible for some of the largest litigation cases in the world, including the lawsuit related to the Mariana dam collapse in the English courts, in which more than 620,000 affected Brazilians are suing the Anglo-Australian mining company BHP, one of the owners of Samarco alongside the Brazilian company Vale.
