SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm, reminds investors who have lost more than $100,000 of the February 5, 2016 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities fraud class action lawsuit filed against Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) related to the massive dam burst disaster at the Fundao Dam.
If you suffered losses because of your purchase of Vale American Depository Receipts between March 21, 2015 and November 30, 2015, contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling 510-725-3000, emailing VALE@hbsslaw.com or visiting https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/VALE. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and investors have until February 5, 2016 to move the court to act as lead plaintiff.
On November 5, 2015 the Fundao Dam suffered a catastrophic rupture, releasing a large volume of toxic sludge into Brazil’s Santarém river valley. The Bento Rodrigues valley, below the dam, was almost entirely flooded by the cascade of mud that ensued after the disaster at the dam. The Fundao Dam was built to accommodate the waste that results from the extraction of iron ore from the mines in the region. The dam was operated by Samarco Mineração SA, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton Ltd.
On November 27, 2015, Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters that Brazil's federal and state governments plan to sue Vale BHP Billiton and Samarco in response to the Fundao Dam disaster. Following this news, shares of Vale fell $0.20, or 5.6%, to close at $3.37 on November 30, 2015.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants misled investors by failing to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business and operations. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that: (i) the accident at Samarco of the bursting of the Fundao Dam resulted in the spillage of toxic waste; (ii) Vale had a contract with Samarco that allowed Vale to deposit iron ore waste from its treatment plants from Vale's Alegria mine into the Fundao Dam; (iii) Vale's programs and procedures to mitigate environmental, health and safety incidents were inadequate.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Vale should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email VALE@hbsslaw.com.
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