Brazil's Vale says civil lawsuit seeks $5 bln in damages from dam burst

SAO PAULO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A deadly dam burst at a Brazilian iron ore mine has triggered a civil lawsuit seeking 20 billion reais ($5.31 billion) in environmental and property damages from mine operator Samarco and its owners, BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) Ltd and Vale SA, Vale said in a securities filing on Monday.

The National Humanitarian Society (Sohumana) has filed the lawsuit before a federal judge in Rio de Janeiro, Vale said. Brazil's federal and state governments have also said they will sue Samarco and its owners for 20 billion reais after a burst tailings dam last month unleashed 60 million cubic meters of mud and mine waste that devastated a village, killed at least 13 people and polluted a major river valley.

($1 = 3.77 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Additional reporting by Juliana Schincariol in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)