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High Court shuts down BHP move to block access to class action

The High Court of Australia has today unanimously dismissed BHP’s attempt to block shareholders who are not resident in Australia from participating in a class action against the company.

The case, jointly run by Phi Finney McDonald and Maurice Blackburn, seeks recovery of investor losses caused by the mining company’s alleged breach of its disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act in relation to the catastrophic collapse of the Fundão dam in Brazil in 2015.

The High Court’s decision ends BHP’s multiple unsuccessful attempts over the last three years to exclude the claims of foreign residents who had invested in BHP Billiton Limited securities traded on the ASX, as well as investors in BHP Billiton Plc securities traded on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.

Cameron Myers, Special Counsel at Phi Finney McDonald, welcomed the High Court judgment.

“The High Court’s decision promotes access to justice, and confirms Australia’s class action regime as one of the most flexible and efficient mechanisms for resolving common issues between claimants. It ensures that foreign group members can seek redress and vindicate their claims in Australian courts,” he said.

“This decision has positive ramifications for all manner of class actions with an international element, including environmental claims. It will also benefit defendants who wish to resolve their liabilities, instead of cynically seeking to disenfranchise claimants.”

Irina Lubomirska, Special Counsel at Maurice Blackburn, welcomed the result.

“Despite the almost three-year delay occasioned by BHP’s appeals before the Full Federal Court and the High Court of Australia, we have steadfastly opposed BHP’s attempts to narrow the Federal class action regime. By rejecting BHP’s appeal, today’s High Court judgment endorses Parliament’s deliberate choice of a broader representative procedure which enhances access to justice and aids the efficiency of court processes,” she said.

“This is a welcome result not just for BHP’s shareholders but for all prospective group members, wherever located, who may continue to seek redress through our Federal class action regime.”

In today’s judgment in BHP Group Limited v. Impiombato & Anor (M12/2022), the Court stated, “BHP’s construction of Pt IVA ignores the Constitution and the legislation passed by the Commonwealth Parliament vesting jurisdiction in the Federal Court, and rewrites the Federal Court of Australia Act.”

“Who makes the claim and where they live does not determine the jurisdiction of the Federal Court or the claims that may be brought in accordance with the procedures in Pt IVA.”

“BHP’s construction would undermine the purpose of Pt IVA by not allowing non-residents to be group members in representative proceedings.”

On 31 May 2018, Impiombato v BHP Billiton Limited was filed in the Federal Court of Australia. The class action alleges that BHP breached its continuous disclosure obligations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in its representations to the market.

Anyone who bought shares in BHP from 8 August 2012 through 9 November 2015 inclusive may be eligible to join this class action. Shareholders do not need to take any action to participate, but can register for further information at: www.bhpclassaction.com

Background

BHP, in a joint venture with Vale SA, owns Samarco Mineração SA, which operates the Germano iron ore mine in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The 5 November 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam at the Germano mine released approximately 60 million cubic meters of waste water in the largest tailings dam rupture ever recorded.

The mudflow flooded the nearby municipality of Bento Rodrigues and killed 19 people. Over 8,000 fishermen lost their livelihoods and 400,000 people lost access to potable water. The mudflow ultimately travelled 600 kilometres to the ocean, creating a toxic brown plume visible from space.

In the period that followed the dam collapse, BHP’s stock price plunged across all markets, falling 22% in Sydney and 23% in London and Johannesburg between 5 November 2015 and 30 November 2015. The class action will seek to recover losses to shareholders throughout this period, during which BHP’s combined market capitalisation fell by more than $25 billion.

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International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.