Victims of the 2011 Brisbane floods will be paid $440 million in compensation from a class action against the Queensland government and Sunwater, in a partial settlement over the operation of the Wivenhoe Dam.
More than 6,500 residents won the landmark class action in 2019 after Queensland water authorities were found to have negligently managed the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams in the January 2011 floods, exacerbating damage to homes.
In a statement to the ASX, litigation funder Omni Bridgeway said today's settlement would be subject to execution of a deed of settlement and to court approval.
The case against a third defendant - state-owned dam operator Seqwater - has not yet settled and accounts for the remaining 50 per cent of the claim.
Omni Bridgeway estimated the total payout to be at least $880 million, however class action lawyers believed the total losses owed to the victims was higher than that.
"This has been a hard-fought and extremely expensive case on behalf of approximately 6,700 claimants ... over many years," a Omni Bridgeway spokesperson said in a statement.
More to come.