Brumadinho on January 25, 2019: Rescue workers search the mud for victims of the dam collapse
Photo: WASHINGTON ALVES/ REUTERS
The trial against TÜV Süd after the dam disaster in Brumadinho, Brazil, is not ending as soon as originally planned.
The District Court of Munich I canceled the announcement date set for February 1 and ordered the re-entry into the oral hearing.
"The background is that the lawsuit has been expanded by a further 1163 plaintiffs to a total of 1170 plaintiffs," the court said.
In the test case, the affected municipality of Brumadinho and the family of one of the 260 fatalities sued TÜV Süd for damages.
The retention basin of an iron ore mine owned by the Brazilian mining company Vale ruptured on January 25, 2019, killing at least 260 people in a mudslide.
A subsidiary of TÜV Süd had tested the dam just a few months earlier and found it safe.
The rupture of the dam not only cost many lives, but also led to a natural disaster in the region.
Nevertheless, the guilt is disputed: TÜV Süd sees no legal responsibility for the dam breach because the mining company Vale did not comply with specifications.
For this reason, the TÜV did not want to get involved in an amicable agreement on the only day of oral hearings in September.
Actually, the 28th Civil Chamber had scheduled an announcement for next Tuesday, February 1st, on how the procedure for the iron ore mine of the Brazilian mining
giant
Vale should continue
(file number 28 O 14821/19)
.
With the massive expansion of the group of plaintiffs, the claims for damages against TÜV Süd are likely to skyrocket.
Mine operator Vale has agreed to a settlement
Plaintiff attorney Jan Spangenberg had already indicated on the fringes of the hearing that he represented many more victims - mostly relatives of victims. According to Spangenberg, their demands could run into the billions. So far, the community and the parents, three brothers and the husband of a victim had demanded around half a million euros in damages from TÜV Süd.
The Brazilian company TÜV Süd Bureau, which belongs to the German group through a subsidiary in Spain, had confirmed four months before the accident that the dam was safe.
The plaintiffs accuse TÜV Süd that this was a courtesy report for the operator.
He sees the responsibility with the operator: Vale is responsible for the stability of the dam.
In a comparison almost a year ago, Vale agreed to pay the equivalent of six billion euros in compensation.
mamk/dpa/AFP/Reuters
