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| Maurice and Blackburn lawyers principal Damian Scattini addresses the crowd at a public meeting for a proposed flood class action against the State of Queensland on behalf of thousands of victims of the 2011 floods. |
THE law firm expected to represent thousands of flood victims in a looming lawsuit against dam operators will be venturing into uncharted legal waters, and not everyone signed up for the case will be coming with them.
Maurice Blackburn and its lawsuit funder IMF have not made a final decision on where to file, but have initially rejected the Federal Court despite a track record of class action settlements there.
Complex litigation such as the flood case can take years and, unlike NSW and Victoria, Queensland does not have a class action procedure.
A Queensland lawsuit would be a representative action in the Supreme Court, alleging negligence in the flooding of parts of Brisbane and Ipswich in 2011.
Maurice Blackburn class action principal Damian Scattini said it was wrong to assume the case would be settled and not go to trial locally.
"Our preference is that it be litigated in Queensland. It happened in Queensland's back yard," he said.
However he said a filing south of the Queensland border was being considered.
About 4400 people registered with the law firm.
Hopes are high for a large payday, but experts say that is unlikely.
Most cases don't go to court, and are settled for amounts that give people a tiny share of their loss, after fees are deducted.
To strengthen their case and provide for larger payouts, law firms often reduce the size of the class or representative group, they say.
Mr Scattini said it was inappropriate to discuss the number of lead applicants now.
"We'll assess things at the end of registration," he said.
University of New South Wales associate law professor Michael Legg said deciding to go to the Supreme Court could be risky as the process was not suited to multiple complaints.
Monash University professor Vince Morabito said class actions filed in the past 20 years in the federal courts had a 50-50 chance of being settled for between $2 million and $200 million.
Prof Morabito did not think it would be difficult for Maurice Blackburn to get the flood class-action into the Federal Court by alleging trade practice breaches such as misleading and deceptive conduct.
"Maurice Blackburn must demonstrate to the Federal Court it has jurisdiction over the matter, negligence is not sufficient. But I don't think it would be difficult to identify legislation that would give them that jurisdiction," he said. "It's not hard."
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25.1.13
