- Relatives of the victims and those affected attend the hearing in Munich
- Munich Regional Court is conducting a more detailed examination of TÜV SÜD’s liability
- Technical expert evidence and witness testimony announced
Munich, 28 May 2026 — After three days of hearings at Munich Regional Court I, Brazilian individuals and municipalities affected by the 2019 Brumadinho dam collapse have welcomed progress in the legal proceedings brought against TÜV SÜD, the German certification company accused of certifying the dam’s stability before its collapse.
The disaster claimed the lives of 270 people and two unborn babies. The proceedings have been before Munich Regional Court since 2019 and, although conducted under German procedural rules, the substantive law applicable to the case is Brazilian law, in accordance with European legislation governing claims arising from harm suffered in other countries.
The hearing focused primarily on a detailed presentation of Brazilian environmental and civil liability law by the court-appointed expert, Dr Jan Peter Schmidt of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. The Court also announced further evidential stages in the proceedings, including technical expert assessments and witness testimony.
Among the issues discussed were the circumstances under which companies may be held liable for environmental disasters and the duties international corporations owe to communities exposed to risk.
The claimants welcomed the Court’s announcement that, in the next stages of the proceedings, it will hear evidence from a technical expert and witnesses — including employees of TÜV SÜD itself. As a result, the case is now entering a phase more focused on the production of evidence and the establishment of the facts.
According to the claimants, the stability certificates issued for the dam were crucial to the continued operation of the mine. They argue that, had certification been denied, measures such as evacuations, operational restrictions and public warnings would have been implemented.
Dr Jan Erik Spangenberg, counsel for the claimants, who works in partnership with international law firm Pogust Goodhead, said:
“The hearings demonstrate that the Court is examining both the legal and factual issues with great rigour. For those affected in Brazil, this is an important sign. Many families have waited more than seven years for responsibility to be not only recognised morally, but also scrutinised through the legal process. We are convinced that the technical expert evidence already announced will make a decisive contribution to establishing the facts.”
The claimants also emphasise that the length of the proceedings continues to place a significant burden on many families, who have been waiting for years for judicial determination and recognition of their suffering.
Gustavo Barroso Câmara, a claimant and brother of victim Izabela Barroso Câmara Pinto, said:
“Five years ago, I came to Munich for the first time — not to engage in a legal dispute, but to seek justice for my sister Izabela. The hearings over the past few days have given me hope that we are moving closer to that goal. TÜV SÜD certified the dam as safe, even though it was not. Izabela, together with another 270 people, was buried alive by the mud released by the collapse. Nothing can bring her back, but I will continue returning and fighting until TÜV SÜD’s responsibility is fully recognised and all victims are properly compensated.”
Munich Regional Court I has announced further stages of the proceedings for the autumn.
The claimants are represented by international law firm Pogust Goodhead — which secured a historic victory in the English courts in November on behalf of hundreds of thousands of victims of the Mariana disaster against Anglo-Australian mining company BHP — in partnership with German law firm Spangenberg. Both firms specialise in large-scale group litigation involving victims of environmental disasters and corporate misconduct.
Notes to Editors
- The proceedings arise from the collapse of the tailings dam at the Córrego do Feijão mine on 25 January 2019, near the town of Brumadinho in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The torrent of mining waste devastated large parts of the region and caused one of the worst socio-environmental disasters in Brazilian history.
- Before the disaster, a Brazilian subsidiary of TÜV SÜD had certified the dam as stable. The claimants allege that the company allowed stability certificates to be issued despite known risks.
- The claims currently involve more than 1,500 claimants, including over 100 children who lost a parent in the disaster. The compensation sought is estimated at approximately €600 million. Immediate family members of those who died — including parents, children and partners — are each seeking around €680,000 in damages. Criminal investigations remain ongoing in both Germany and Brazil.
