28 November 2013

Maurice Blackburn class action announcement backed by flood victims

Media Release
Ipswich City Councillor Paul Tully
Maurice Blackburn class action announcement backed by flood victims 
Cr Paul Tully
Flood victims in the Ipswich suburb of Goodna are backing today's announcement of the Maurice Blackburn class action against the state government.

Goodna was the hardest hit suburb in southeast Queensland in January 2011 with 600 flood-affected  properties.

Local councillor Paul Tully who lost his family home in the flood described today's announcement as a "major ray of hope for all flood victims".

Cr Tully urgent flood victims across Ipswich and Brisbane to sign up by the end of February 2014 for the class action.

"This is an opportunity for residents and business owners to be compensated for their losses caused by the mismanagement of the Wivenhoe Dam in 2011."

Cr Tully called on the state government to enter negotiations in good faith for a settlement of the class action without the need for an expensive legal trial.

"The state government must act as a model litigant to ensure all flood victims are fairly compensated for their losses," Cr Tully said.

Class action modelling blames Wivenhoe Dam for flooding

THE overwhelming majority of the 5000 homes and businesses signed up for a Brisbane 2011 floods class action now certain to go ahead would not have been inundated if Wivenhoe Dam had been operated competently, modelling by US experts shows.

The modelling shows 85 per cent of the properties would not have suffered any inundation in the floods, which were caused by massive releases from the dam.



28.11.13

Flood victims given green light for class action over 2011 Brisbane and Bremer River floods

Wivenhoe Dam spillway.
PREMIER Campbell Newman has taken a veiled swipe at the legal firm representing the thousands of Ipswich and Brisbane residents who are seeking compensation after their homes and businesses were flooded in 2011.

Residents have been given the green light to launch a far-reaching class action claim after litigation backer IMF Australia and law firm Maurice Blackburn claim extensive modelling of the disaster revealed unnecessary flooding was caused by the negligent operation of Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams.

So far, 5000 people have signed up, with claims against the Queensland Government, Sunwater and Seqwater totalling more than $1 billion.

Mr Newman said on Wednesday (Nov 27) he hoped all those people who sign up read the fine print closely.

"Everybody's entitled to mount a legal action in this country. That is what democracy and the legal system is all about," he said.

"I just say to them that I hope that they have got a very clear deal with the legal firm or legal firms involved.

"I would hate to see any sort of payout to them, if that ultimately happened, being gobbled up in legal fees."

Maurice Blackburn principal Damian Scattini said community meetings would be held in Ipswich and Brisbane, with the meetings to play an important role in helping to ensure registrants were properly informed of the next steps in the action.

EARLIER: THOUSANDS of Ipswich and Brisbane residents whose homes and businesses were damaged in the 2011 floods have been given the green light to launch a far-reaching class action claim next year.

Litigation backer IMF Australia and Maurice Blackburn say extensive modelling of the disaster has revealed the extent of unnecessary flooding caused by the negligent operation of Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams.

So far, 5000 people have signed up, with claims against the Queensland Government, Sunwater and Seqwater totalling more than $1 billion.

Maurice Blackburn principal Damian Scattini said community meetings would be held in Ipswich and Brisbane, with the meetings to play an important role in helping to ensure registrants were properly informed of the next steps in the action.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale stands on
 the River Heart parklands side of
 the Bremer River
"Anyone who was inundated and suffered loss during the 2011 flood of the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers may have a claim and should contact IMF to find out whether their property was unnecessarily flooded," he said.

"For most people, this was a flood that should not have happened if Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams had been operated properly.

"We have put many months of work into this case and we are now ready to run this case and file a lawsuit after we give flood victims a final opportunity to join the claim."

Flood-affected residents have until February 28, 2014, to sign up.

Meetings for registrants will be held on Sunday, December 15, at The Greek Club, South Brisbane, from 1pm, and on Monday, December 16, at the Metro Hotel International, Ipswich, from 7pm.

For more information about the meetings or to register for the floods class action visit:imf.com.au/Wivenhoe/default.aspx


28.11.13

Class action sign-up deadline looms for 2011 Brisbane & Bremer River flood victims


Victims of the 2011 Brisbane and Bremer River floods have until 28 February 2014 to sign up for the planned class action proposed by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.

 This is an essential step for all potential claimants to sign up by that date in order to recover their losses from the man-made flood.

 The proposed class action is on a "non win, no fee" basis, meaning that residents who join the class action will not be out of pocket, even in the event the class action is not successful.
Meeting at Goodna with Maurice Blackburn
 Lawyers and local Councillor Paul Tully.
Meetings are being held by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. 

Meetings for registrants will be held on:

December 15 at The Greek Club, South Brisbane, from 1pm, and on

December 16 at the Metro Hotel International, Ipswich, from 7pm.

For more information, or to register for the class action, visit:

www.imf.com.au/wivenhoe or call 1800 016 464.

Class action lawsuit accusing State Government of negligence in 2011 floods will go ahead next year

A class-action lawsuit will be filed against the State
 Government early next year, alleging dam
 mismanagement in the lead-up to
flooding in southeast Queensland
in 2011. 
A class-action lawsuit accusing the Queensland Government of negligence in the flooding of southeast Queensland residents will be filed early next year, following a February 28 deadline for people to sign up for the action.

Law firm Maurice Blackburn and litigation funder IMF Australia announced their plans this morning, ending months of uncertainty about whether the suit would proceed.

The law firm says its experts believe much of the damage from 2011 flooding could have been avoided if the Wivenhoe dam had been operated properly.

The state has denied dam engineers were at fault, saying they did all they could do to mitigate flooding during huge rainfalls in the catchments.

In a statement, IMF Australia Executive Director, John Walker, said that extensive modelling of the 2011 flood has identified the extent of the "unnecessary flooding".

"The modelling gives IMF the certainty it needs to commit the millions of dollars required for this claim to proceed," Mr Walker said.

"It has been a long road to this point but we are very pleased now to be able to say the action will go ahead," he said.

Maurice Blackburn Principal Damian Scattini said community meetings would be held in Ipswich and Brisbane, with the meetings to play an important role in helping to ensure registrants were properly informed of the next steps in the action.

"The statement of claim for the class action will be filed at the earliest opportunity next year, but we first want to provide people registered in the class action with case updates as we have always promised to do," Mr Scattini said.

"There will be a final opportunity for residents and businesses not yet signed up to the action to do so before 28 February 2014. In order to participate in the class action, you must sign up before this date. The claim will be filed following this deadline.

"Anyone who was inundated and suffered loss during the 2011 flood of the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers may have a claim and should contact IMF to find out whether their property was unnecessarily flooded."

"We take the privilege of representing residents and businesses impacted by the 2011 flood very seriously - we have put many months of work into this case and we're now ready to run this case and file a lawsuit after we give flood victims a final opportunity to join the claim," Mr Scattini said.

Premier Campbell Newman was not immediately available for comment.

Meetings:

Meetings for registrants will be held on:

December 15 at The Greek Club, South Brisbane, from 1pm, and on

December 16 at the Metro Hotel International, Ipswich, from 7pm.

For more information, or to register for the class action visit www.imf.com.au/wivenhoe or call 1800 016 464.

27.11.13

$1billion plus Qld flood class action to proceed


5000 flood victims are taking on Queensland
 to claw back more than $1billion lost
 in the 2011 disaster. 

FLOOD-WEARY southeast Queenslanders had to first fight insurers, now they will take on the state to claw back more than $1 billion lost because of the 2011 disaster.

About 5000 people have registered to sue the state government, SunWater and Seqwater over claims too much water was released from Wivenhoe Dam at the peak of the floods to unnecessarily push up the Brisbane and Bremer rivers.

More than two years on, some residents are still picking up the pieces, including Jen Robusto, whose Kenmore home was inundated past the second floor.

Damage to her pool and carpet weren't covered by insurance and she's out of pocket up to $100,000.

"I'm still having drama," she said.

"I haven't been holding my breath for this class action, because disappointment is worse."

Litigation funder IMF Australia and Maurice Blackburn will rely on commissioned modelling that reveals flooding caused by the negligent operation.

The modelling has given IMF the certainty it needed to commit the millions of dollars required for the claim, which will be filed early next year.

IMF Australia executive director John Walker told AAP that lawyers would argue that engineers should have released more water earlier to reduce the peak, and would question why the flood centre was shut between January 2 and 6.

"There was an ongoing flood event. Under the manual they were required to be operating from a flood centre," Mr Walker said.

"Basically the allegation (is) the engineers permitted the dam to get to a level they ought not to have and they should have commenced water through the gates before they did and at greater levels than they did."

Premier Campbell Newman would not say if the government would consider settling.

Instead he offered applicants a warning.

"I just say to them, I hope they have got a very clear deal with the legal firms involved and I'd hate to see any payout to them, if that ultimately happened, being gobbled up in legal fees."

The flood inquiry had found that the engineers - John Tibaldi, Rob Ayre and Terry Malone - had breached the dam manual and it referred them to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) to examine if they lied under oath and covered their tracks about which water release strategies they adopted.

After a five-month review, the CMC said in August 2012 there was no evidence the engineers colluded to mislead the floods inquiry about how the dam was managed before Brisbane and Ipswich flooded.

In line with the flood inquiry's recommendations, the CMC's probe was limited to documents the engineers prepared about their actions, and their oral testimony.

It did not look at whether their management of the dam's gates during the flood could amount to a criminal offence or official misconduct.

More than 78 per cent of Queensland was declared a disaster zone during the floods in December 2010 and January 2011, which affected more than 2.5 million people.

SunWater and Seqwater have been contacted for comment.
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