Successful Results & Aftermath of Landmark Hudbay Minerals Lawsuits
By lawyers Murray Klippenstein and Cory Wanless, and Grahame Russell (Rights Action)
May 21, 2025
On October 7, 2024, thirteen Maya Q’eqchi’ Plaintiffs from Guatemala, their lawyers in Canada, and Rights Action, announced the successful settlement after 14 years of legal battles of their landmark lawsuits against Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals.
The precedent setting lawsuits (Choc v Hudbay Minerals Inc., 2013 ONSC 1414) related to mining-linked violence the Plaintiffs suffered in the vicinity of the Fenix mine, formerly owned and operated by Hudbay on Q’eqchi’ lands in eastern Guatemala. The Plaintiffs feel vindicated by the settlement, and hope that the litigation will act as a warning to other companies.
The three overlapping lawsuits were filed in Ontario in 2010 and 2011 against Hudbay, to seek a measure of justice for three major events in Guatemala: the September 27, 2009 killing of Adolfo Ich Cháman by Mynor Padilla (then head of the Fenix mine’s private security force), and security guards under his command; the September 27, 2009 shooting and paralysis of Germán Chub Choc by Mynor Padilla; and the gang-rapes of 11 Q’eqchi’ campesina women by roving groups of Guatemalan police, soldiers and private security guards during the January 17, 2007 violent eviction and wholescale destruction of their remote village of Lote Ocho, on traditional Mayan lands sought after for mining.
The Fenix mine was owned by Canadian company Skye Resources Inc. from 2004-2008. In 2008 Hudbay bought Skye Resources and later merged the company and its mine with Hudbay. Hudbay owned and operated the Fenix mine from 2008-2011.
Criminal trial and guilty plea of Hudbay security chief Mynor Padilla
Hudbay’s Guatemalan head of security Mynor Padilla sidestepped Guatemala’s notoriously corrupt legal system for three years, but finally, partly due to the Canadian lawsuits, he was eventually arrested and charged with murder. For several years more the Guatemalan legal system failed to hold him accountable. In January 2021, Mynor Padilla finally pled guilty to killing Adolfo Ich and shooting German Chub.
Successful settlement finally provides hope to the Plaintiffs
In the October 2024 settlement agreement, all parties had agreed to a “quiet period” to allow for everyone, and most particularly the Plaintiffs and their families in Guatemala, to focus on getting on their lives. We are pleased to report that, to date, things have gone well in the post settlement period. The Plaintiffs and their families have begun to rebuild their lives, after their original suffering and losses, followed by the ordeal of their 14-year litigation.
Lessons for the future
The end of the quiet period means that the Guatemalan Plaintiffs, their lawyers and Rights Action, can now openly discuss the challenges and obstacles they confronted both in Canada and Guatemala, their successes in overcoming them, the lessons learned from this 14-year struggle, how they achieved a measure of justice and reparations, and how their lawsuits changed Canadian and international common law for the better.
