The first court hearing is due on Wednesday at the Technology and Construction Court, which will determine if the claimants can can lodge a case against Shell's Nigerian business, known as Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
Clean-up plan
Amnesty's findings followed a 2011 report by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which found water contaminated with oil by-products including benzene, thought to be a carcinogen. It suggested a clean up, but said a "sustainable recovery" of the area could take up to 30 years.
Shell says it has agreed a clean-up plan.
"In mid-2015 SPDC JV, along with the government, UNEP and representatives of the Ogoni community, agreed to an 18-month roadmap to fast-track the environmental clean-up and remediation of Ogoniland which includes a governance framework," it said in a statement.
The Bille community, who are mainly fishermen and are the other party to sue, claims Shell should be liable for "failing to protect their pipelines from damage caused by third parties", according to Leigh Day.
Theft
Pipelines in the area have been targets for thieves who steal crude oil and try to refine it locally. This has lead to more spills and damage though explosions.
"Both Bille and Ogale are areas heavily impacted by crude oil theft, pipeline sabotage and illegal refining which remain the main sources of pollution across the Niger Delta.
"Ogale is in Ogoniland and it is important to note that SPDC has produced no oil or gas in Ogoniland since 1993. Access to the area has been limited following a rise in violence, threats to staff and attacks on facilities," Shell said.
Settlement
But the communities say Shell pipelines lack the technology to detect and shut off leaks, whatever the cause.
Daniel Leader, partner at Leigh Day said: "It is scandalous that four years after the UNEP Report Shell is yet to clean up its oil in either Ogale or Bille. Our client's patience has now run out and we intend to force Shell to act since it is clear they have no intention of doing so on their own."
In January last year, Shell agreed to an $84m (£55m) settlement with residents of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta for two oil spills.
The same law firm, Leigh Day, said their 15,600 clients would receive $3,300 each for losses caused by the spills.
The remaining $30m would be left for the community, which Leigh Day said was "devastated by the two massive oil spills in 2008 and 2009".
That dispute began in 2011.
Image copyrightbbc
During the trial emails, letters and internal reports submitted to a court in London, and seen by the BBC, showed that senior Shell employees were concerned before the spill that Shell's pipelines in the area had reached the end of their lives and needed replacing to avoid danger to lives, the environment and the economy.
Two spills in 2008 affected about 35 sq miles (90 sq km) in southern Nigeria, according to the Bodo community which sued Shell.
Shell said at the time it "dismisses the suggestion that it has knowingly continued to use a pipeline that is not safe to operate".
The former secretary of state and real estate mogul entered Super Tuesday as the favourites to win the vast majority of states for their respective parties.
In her victory speech on Tuesday, Mrs Clinton appeared to already be looking towards a potential presidential race against Donald Trump, saying: "The stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side has never been lower."
Donald Trump, for his part, insisted that he was a "unifier" who could put internal fighting in the Republican party behind him to focus on a general election race against Mrs Clinton.
"Once we get all this finished, I'm going after one person - Hillary Clinton," he told reporters in Florida, where he has been campaigning ahead of the state's vote later this month.
The billionaire also insisted he had "expanded the Republican party", referring to higher turnout from a broad demographic in states that have already voted.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz called on his rivals to drop out of the race, which he says would enable him to contend Mr Trump's lead more effectively.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was hoping to emerge as the main alternative to Mr Trump, won his first state on Tuesday in the Minnesota caucuses.
Analysis - Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter
Donald Trump's opponents entered Super Tuesday looking for slivers of hope, but they may end up with splinters of despair.
Thanks to large margins in the Washington DC suburbs of northern Virginia, Marco Rubio outperformed expectations in the state and nearly pulled off an upset victory. Ohio Governor John Kasich, with the backing of older and better educated voters, showed well in Vermont. And Ted Cruz won his home state of Texas and neighbouring Oklahoma, and is running strong in Arkansas.
All of this, individually, can be considered good news for the Trump resistance. But it also means all three presidential hopefuls are likely to stick around a while longer - continuing to present a fractured front against the man who continues to rack up wins and add to his delegate count.
No one candidate emerged on Tuesday as Mr Trump's top challenger. That's great news for Trump and, collectively, bad news for Republicans who don't want to see him as their party's nominee.
Meanwhile, among the Democrats, the evening is going largely as expected - which is little help to Bernie Sanders. While he won his home state of Vermont plus Oklahoma, Hillary Clinton is sweeping the South and racking up a sizeable delegate lead.
Mr Sanders won't concede any time soon but unlike the Republicans, the competitive portion of the Democratic race is probably approaching an end.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionHillary Clinton is building a strong lead in the Democratic raceImage copyrightReutersImage captionBernie Sanders spoke from his home state of Vermont, which he won on Tuesday eveningImage copyrightReutersImage captionDonald Trump says he is the best candidate to face Hillary Clinton in the presidential raceImage copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionTexas Senator Ted Cruz is urging his rivals to drop out of the race
Mr Trump has stunned the Republican establishment to become the party's front-runner. Despite his controversial policies on immigration, the former reality TV star has been consistently polling well above his rivals - Ted Cruz, Mr Rubio, Mr Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
Both Senators Cruz and Rubio have ramped up their anti-Trump rhetoric over the past week, in a bid to halt his commanding lead in the race. The outcome of Super Tuesday will be critical for both candidates to remain the race.
On the Democratic side, Mrs Clinton had already secured three wins in the first four early-voting states and has led significantly among blocs of black voters there.
Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, has put up an unexpectedly strong challenge against the former secretary of state after his sweeping victory in New Hampshire last month.
Addressing cheering supporters at his victory speech in Vermont on Tuesday, Mr Sanders aimed a jibe at the Republican front-runner saying: "We are not going to let the Donald Trumps of the world divide us."
Voters have been casting their ballots across the country, from Massachusetts and Virginia on the east coast to Texas and all the way to Alaska.
Super Tuesday is pivotal in the presidential nomination race, with nearly a quarter of the 2,472 Republican delegates are up for grabs and some 20% of all delegates for the Democrats.
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionChinese buyers spent big in Sydney's property market in 2015, with harbour-side luxury apartments in high demand
Chinese buyers have helped drive huge price rises in Australia's property market, but Beijing is now trying to prevent its citizens from taking cash out of the country. Julian Lorkin investigates whether the boom is over.
Shanghai-based Australian real estate agent Scott Kirchner helped moneyed Chinese buyers snap up new Australian apartments and homes at a record rate last year.
Mr Kirchner, who speaks fluent Mandarin, is one of many Australian agents who run offices in Beijing and Shanghai hoping to reap profits from Chinese investors spending big offshore.
But increasing pressure on China's currency, the yuan, means Beijing is taking steps to stop money flowing out of the country. For agents like Mr Kirchner, the market may have passed its peak.
"Until now the rules were loose. You could liquidate investments on the Shanghai stock market and turn it into cash in Australia. The Chinese government wants to stop that," Mr Kirchner told the BBC.
According to Chinese law, individuals can take a maximum of $50,000 (A$69,800; £35,000) out of the country. Chinese banks that once looked away when investors transferred money to outside China are now scrupulously applying rules about the transfer of capital overseas.
This means fewer Chinese buyers can get enough money out of the country to buy expensive Australian real estate.
"Many of my customers are saying that they went to transfer funds overseas, and the bank refused," Mr Kirchner says. "Now I tell Chinese buyers not to sign Australian contracts unless they already have their money in their hand - outside China."
Economic woes
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionChina's share market has plunged since its peak in mid-2015
China's economy, the world's second-largest, appears to be slowing, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropping more than 40% since its peak in June.
Investors who sold at the share market's peak became yuan millionaires, but those who held on have lost much of their wealth.
"Many left it too late, and quite simply they don't have the cash any longer," says Mr Kirchner. "In Sydney, every real estate agent was looking at China. Now, they are more cautious, which will cause problems for Australian developers."
Last year Chinese buyers spent a record A$12bn on Australian property, boosting house prices at a time when locals were already feeling anxious about the rocketing cost of property.
But growth in house prices has now slowed in Australia. Between October and December 2015, Sydney house prices dropped by 3%, the biggest fall on record.
Investment banks like Macquarie are forecasting a 7% decline in 2016, and say a housing collapse could push Australia into recession.
Andrew Wilson, Domain's senior economist, said: "The heady days of the boom are well over, and Australia is playing catch up with rest of the world in terms of low interest rates, and low growth."
"China has been a very significant part of the market for the past few years, particularly for high rise apartments in Sydney," he said, adding that with growth forecasts of only 3% to 5% in 2016, there were questions over whether housing would remain attractive to investors.
Cause for optimism
Image copyrightJulian LorkinImage captionA Sydney real estate sign designed to attract Chinese buyers
Some analysts and agents are less pessimistic, arguing that Chinese investors are looking for safer havens than shares, and their investment in housing will prop up Australian house prices.
Only a small proportion of Chinese investors managed to liquidate their assets before the crash and clampdown. But a small percentage of China's share market is still a vast number of investors.
Tim Lawless, from real estate analysts Corelogic, said many Chinese investors had brought money to Australia already, as they had planned to buy property there for several years. Families could also team up to circumvent the US$50,000 foreign investment limit.
"That will sustain the property market," Mr Lawless said. "Chinese who have cash here are still interested in Australian property.
"However, they are looking for areas that might still have growth, like Melbourne or the Gold Coast. Sydney is past its peak, but prices haven't fallen off a cliff. "
Mr Wilson agreed, saying Chinese buyers were still active in Melbourne.
"Those who managed get out of China before the rout are looking for a safe haven which is resilient to any downturn. Chinese students are also buying, with the expectation that they and their parents will emigrate permanently in the next few years," he said.
LuLu Pallier, from Sotheby's Realty, markets luxurious mansions to wealthy buyers from mainland China.
She said the market for properties above A$5m remained strong.
"Buyers at this level already have their money in Australia, and want to put it somewhere safe," Ms Pallier said.
"Australia is very attractive. Compared with Chinese shares it is very stable. Confidence in Shanghai shares and property has evaporated."
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