Municipio De Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc & Anor

Municipio De Mariana & Ors v BHP Group Plc & Anor

The claimants were not permitted to raise the Samarco solvency issue at the late stage of the hearing because it was not pleaded, not included in skeleton arguments, expressly abandoned, and its introduction would prejudice the defendants and disrupt the hearing; the court exercised its case management discretion to exclude the issue.

Parties
Claimant: Município de Mariana; First Defendant: BHP Group Plc; Second Defendant: BHP Group Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 September 2020
Procedural Posture
Civil / Interlocutory Ruling on Case Management and Permission to Appeal
Outcome
Application to reconsider the ruling on the Samarco issue refused; court directs that the Court of Appeal should determine permission to appeal before substantive judgment is handed down.
Legal Topics
Case Management, Abuse of Process, Forum Non Conveniens, Striking Out, Stay of Proceedings, Full Redress, Joint and Several Liability
Civil Procedure Environmental Law Tort Law Case Management Abuse of Process Forum Non Conveniens Striking Out Stay of Proceedings +2 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Município de Mariana

Claimant

BHP Group Plc

First Defendant

BHP Group Ltd

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Interlocutory Ruling on Case Management and Permission to Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether claimants can raise the Samarco solvency issue at the late stage of the hearing
  2. 2 Whether the court should permit claimants to rely on evidence not articulated in skeleton arguments
  3. 3 Whether the defendants would be prejudiced by late introduction of the Samarco issue

Ratio Decidendi

The claimants were not permitted to raise the Samarco solvency issue at the late stage of the hearing because it was not pleaded, not included in skeleton arguments, expressly abandoned, and its introduction would prejudice the defendants and disrupt the hearing; the court exercised its case management discretion to exclude the issue.

Court Disposition

Application to reconsider the ruling on the Samarco issue refused; court directs that the Court of Appeal should determine permission to appeal before substantive judgment is handed down.

Orders

  • Claimants not permitted to raise the Samarco solvency issue at this stage.
  • Court of Appeal to determine permission to appeal prior to substantive judgment.