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| Brisbane River flood January 2011 |
FIRMS mounting a class-action lawsuit against the Queensland Government have spent $1 million on experts to prove Wivenhoe Dam operators were negligent in flooding thousands of homes and businesses last year.
Several hundred flood victims turned out for public meetings in Brisbane yesterday and today as law firm Maurice Blackburn and litigation funder IMF Australia mapped out their strategy for the suit.
Maurice Blackburn partner Damian Scattini told a packed crowd at Indooroopilly Bowls Club that "overconfident" dam operators failed to follow their manual or monitor the weather properly in the lead-up to the flood.
Three US-based experts in dam and hydro-dynamics are preparing detailed reports and modelling that will demonstrate much of the flood damage was caused by late releases that could have avoided with more prudent management.
About 3400 people have already signed for the "no win, no pay" suit, which potentially could cost the state more than $1 billion.
The experts' modelling will show which areas would not have flooded or would have suffered substantially less damage if the dam operators had acted differently.
People with properties that would have been damaged no matter what the dam operators did will not be represented in the class action, which is likely to be filed in Queensland.
The class action will seek only actual damages not "pain and suffering" and compensation received from other sources might be deducted from the claims, Mr Scattini said. He confirmed the state was building a legal war chest and firming its legal position.
"I'm sure they'll find money to fight us," he said.
The state's inquiry into the floods provided "useful sworn testimony" for the lawsuit, with dam operators "in thick mud at the moment".
He doubted the state would pass legislation to limit a court payout.
Only a handful of the 200-plus people at the meeting raised their hands when asked if they had been taken care of by their insurance companies.
Several hundred flood victims turned out for public meetings in Brisbane yesterday and today as law firm Maurice Blackburn and litigation funder IMF Australia mapped out their strategy for the suit.
Maurice Blackburn partner Damian Scattini told a packed crowd at Indooroopilly Bowls Club that "overconfident" dam operators failed to follow their manual or monitor the weather properly in the lead-up to the flood.
Three US-based experts in dam and hydro-dynamics are preparing detailed reports and modelling that will demonstrate much of the flood damage was caused by late releases that could have avoided with more prudent management.
About 3400 people have already signed for the "no win, no pay" suit, which potentially could cost the state more than $1 billion.
The experts' modelling will show which areas would not have flooded or would have suffered substantially less damage if the dam operators had acted differently.
People with properties that would have been damaged no matter what the dam operators did will not be represented in the class action, which is likely to be filed in Queensland.
The class action will seek only actual damages not "pain and suffering" and compensation received from other sources might be deducted from the claims, Mr Scattini said. He confirmed the state was building a legal war chest and firming its legal position.
"I'm sure they'll find money to fight us," he said.
The state's inquiry into the floods provided "useful sworn testimony" for the lawsuit, with dam operators "in thick mud at the moment".
He doubted the state would pass legislation to limit a court payout.
Only a handful of the 200-plus people at the meeting raised their hands when asked if they had been taken care of by their insurance companies.
www.CourierMail.com.au
25.6.12
