London court reopens $7bn Brazil dam collapse lawsuit against BHP

Six years after deadly Fundao dam rupture, lawsuit against Anglo-Australian mining giant proclaimed as an opportunity for real justice'

London's court of appeal made a U-turn on Tuesday by agreeing to reopen a US$7bn lawsuit by 200,000 claimants against Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP, reviving a case over a dam rupture behind Brazil's worst environmental disaster.

Lawyers for one of the largest group claims in English legal history have been pushing to resurrect the 5bn ($6.9bn) lawsuit against BHP since a lower court struck out the lawsuit as an abuse of process last year - and a court of appeal judge upheld that decision in March.