"Germany's TÜV Süd "shirking responsibility" over 2019 Brazil dam burst, court hears", 28 September 2021

...The municipality of Brumadinho and the family of an engineer killed in the accident allege the company negligently certified the Brumadinho dam in southeastern Brazil, although it did not meet international safety standards...

Lawyers for the claimants said the case represented the chance of adequate reparations to rebuild lives and communities.

"TÜV Süd is shirking its grave responsibility and will not help us rebuild our small municipality," Avimar Barcelos, the mayor of Brumadinho, told the court...

Lawyers for Munich-based TÜV Süd voiced regret over the catastrophe but told the court the company was not liable, noting that Brazil's Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer that operated the dam, had agreed to pay damages of 6.0 billion euros ($7 billion).

"It is the operator of the dam who is responsible for its stability," said Philipp Hanfland, one of TÜV Süd's lawyers...

Vale was not immediately available for comment...

The seven claimants, including the parents, three brothers and husband of 30-year-old Vale engineer Izabela Barroso Cãmara Pinto, are demanding around half a million euros in damages from the company. One of her brothers said he was "sad and angry".

Claimant lawyers say if this case succeeds, about 1,200 other people, who lost family members or were directly affected by the dam failure, could launch follow-on claims that could propel damages to billions of euros.

The next hearing has been scheduled for February 2022...