Since 2019, more than 1,400 claimants have brought legal proceedings; total compensation sought from TÜV SÜD amounting to R$3.2 billion
Seven years after the Brumadinho dam collapse, occurred on 25 January 2019 in Minas Gerais, Brazil, the victims and affected municipalities have taken a decisive step closer to justice. The Munich District Court has listed three days of hearing from 26 to 28 May 2026 in the legal action against TÜV SÜD AG, the German certification company that attested to the dam’s stability before it failed.
The hearings mark a critical phase in the case, which seeks accountability and compensation for one of the worst environmental and human disasters in Brazilian history. Around 1,400 claimants are seeking approximately R$ 3.2 billion (around €600 million) in compensation. The municipalities of Brumadinho and Mário Campos are also claimants in the proceedings.
The case is currently at the liability stage and is progressing positively. In 2023, the Munich court appointed a specialist in Brazilian law to provide an expert opinion, and in December 2025 it appointed a second expert specialised in dam safety. These hearing dates will focus on hearing the court-appointed expert and addressing the parties’ arguments under dispute.
Although the proceedings are governed by German procedural law, the Court will apply Brazilian law when assessing liability and damages.
The claimants are represented by the international law firm Pogust Goodhead – which, in November, secured a landmark victory in the English courts on behalf of over 600,000 victims of the Mariana dam disaster against the Anglo-Australian mining company BHP – alongside the German firm Spangenberg. Both firms specialise in large-scale collective litigation on behalf of victims of environmental disasters and corporate misconduct worldwide.
Pogust Goodhead, representing the victims, sees it as a crucial step forward that the Court has now appointed a technical expert and set the timetable for expert hearings, bringing the claimants significantly closer to having their case fully heard and decided on its merits.
Guy Robson, partner at Pogust Goodhead, expressed solidarity with the claimants and reaffirmed the firm’s commitment to those affected. “Seven years on from the Brumadinho disaster, families and communities are still living with the devastating consequences of this tragedy. We are therefore glad that the Munich Court has now scheduled these key hearings, bringing our clients meaningfully closer to justice,” he said.
Context
The collapse of the Córrego do Feijão mine dam, owned by Vale, occurred on 25 January 2019. The equivalent of 400,000 water trucks’ worth of mining waste surged in a wave of mud, destroying homes and vegetation. The disaster left 272 people dead, two of them are still missing. It also caused severe contamination of the Paraopeba River. Approximately 13 million m³ of tailings flooded the region, halting water extraction and destroying part of the local economy.
The claimants argue that, at the time of the disaster, TÜV SÜD used safety verification standards that fell below Brazilian and international benchmarks, circumventing oversight by the competent authorities. The accusation also states that internal communications from May 2018 indicate that employees suggested the company could lose business with Vale if TÜV SÜD refused to certify one of the mining company’s containment structures.
