Mountain Views
Mail Covering the foothills of the Yarra Ranges & Murrindindi Shires
Tuesday, 2 June, 2015
7
Brewery hops on
A Mail News Group publication
25-27
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■ $300 million settlement averts lengthy Black Saturday court battle...
Worawa spirit comes alive
Class action victor y By JESSE GRAHAM A LENGTHY court battle over the final Black Saturday bushfires class action lawsuit has been avoided, after a $300 million settlement was approved by the Supreme Court last week. Justice Karin Leigh Emerton handed down her judgement on the proposed settlement for the Murrindindi-Marysville bushfire class action lawsuit on Wednesday 27 May. In a 33-page judgement, Justice Emerton outlined her reasoning for supporting the settlement for the class action, which was led by Marysville’s Dr Katherine Rowe against AusNet Services (formerly SP AusNet), maintenance contractor UAM and State parties (CFA, Victoria Police and DELWP).
The case alleged that AusNet was to blame for the fire starting west of Milhelmina Falls Road, from a power conductor snapping and draping over a wire fence, electrifying other wires and igniting vegetation. It was alleged that UAM failed to report obvious defects and that the State parties failed to get information to people “at the right time”the settlement was reached without admission of liability by any party. One of the major considerations in accepting the settlement, according to Justice Emerton, was weighing up the benefits of saving the court process with the possibility of a better outcome for survivors if the case went on. She noted that, with 131 witnesses set to take the
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SCHOOLS from around the valley and beyond gathered last week for a special annual sports carnival to mark the start of Reconciliation Week. Students from 13 schools attended the Reconciliation Sports Carnival at Worawa Aboriginal College in Healesville last week for some friendly competition, and to gather on National Sorry Day. Netball player Stephanie Williams, pictured, had “Worawa spirit” painted on her arm before competing on the day. For the full report from the day, and for more photos, turn to page 25. 139674 Picture: JESSE GRAHAM
stand and describe their experiences of the bushfires, the settlement saved all those impacted by the fires from having to describe their trauma in detail. “In my view, the advantage of an early finalisation of the proceeding is a very important one,” the judgement read. “Given the traumatic nature of the events giving rise to the class action, there must be a considerable benefit to avoiding long delays and in achieving finality in litigation.” Justice Emerton wrote that there was also no guarantee of a positive outcome for the class action members, with the possibility of losing the case or having an outcome appealed, significantly raising legal costs. Continued on page 3
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Lanterns light up Warburton