Pogust Goodhead has emphatically denied that it is controlled by litigation funders, insisting it retains full “forensic independence” in the high‑profile claim over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse.

As LFJ recently reported, the class action firm, representing hundreds of thousands of victims in a potential £36 billion lawsuit against mining giant BHP, is under scrutiny following the recent ousting of its co‑founder and chief executive, Tom Goodhead, at the behest of its primary financier, Gramercy Funds Management.

An article in The Law Society Gazette reports that Pogust Goodhead maintains it enjoys “forensic independence” from its principal backer. Opponents—including BHP and its counsel, Slaughter and May—have raised serious concerns about governance, questioning whether Gramercy now exerts undue influence over strategic decisions—an arrangement that could run foul of English and Welsh rules reserving case control for qualified lawyers.

In response, Pogust Goodhead reiterated that it remains “fully independent, with complete control over the strategy and direction of every case” and that its renewed governance structures strengthen its capacity to act in its clients’ best interests. Gramercy, for its part, denied any ownership or management control of the firm.

Looking ahead, this unfolding governance dispute raises critical questions for the future of litigation funding: How will courts view funder-linked control over claimant law firms? Could the outcome limit or reshape access-to-justice models reliant on third-party financing? As this case nears a key ruling, the legal funding industry may be on the cusp of a regulatory watershed.

A high-stakes governance fight is spilling into the UK’s largest group action. BHP has demanded clarity over hedge fund Gramercy Funds Management’s role at Pogust Goodhead, the claimant firm fronting a £36 billion suit tied to Brazil’s 2015 Mariana dam disaster. The miner’s counsel at Slaughter and May points to recent leadership turmoil at the firm and questions whether a non-lawyer financier can exert de facto control over litigation strategy—an issue that cuts to the heart of legal ethics and England & Wales’ restrictions on who can direct claims.

Financial Times reports that Gramercy, which finances Pogust, has just extended $65 million more to the firm after the removal of CEO-cofounder Tom Goodhead. BHP wants answers on independence and management oversight as the case nears a pivotal High Court ruling. For its part, Pogust says it remains independent and committed to its clients, while Gramercy rejects any suggestion it owns or manages the firm. The backdrop is familiar to funders: courts’ increasing scrutiny of who calls the shots when capital underwrites complex, bet-the-company litigation. Prior settlement overtures from BHP and Vale—reported at $1.4 billion—were rebuffed as insufficient relative to the claim’s scale and alleged harm.

Beyond this case, the episode underscores a larger question: how far can financing arrangements go before they collide with the long-standing principle that lawyers—and only lawyers—control litigation? The answer matters well beyond Mariana. If courts or legislators tighten the definition of control, expect deal terms, governance covenants, and disclosure norms in UK funding to evolve quickly. For cross-border mass-harm claims, the line between support and steer is narrowing—and being tested in real time.