IMF nod for Qld flood victim action
UPDATE 2pm: Litigation funder IMF says it will pursue a $2 billion class action against the Queensland Government on behalf of Brisbane property owners and insurers who experienced damage and loss in the January 2011 floods.
IMF has concluded that some residents' properties would not have been flooded had the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams, upstream on the Brisbane River, been managed competently during the flood event.
"IMF has now concluded that funded parties' unnecessary loss and damage is sufficient to make proceedings viable," the company said in a statement.
Maurice Blackburn will act on behalf of the plaintiffs.
IMF said it would now make all affected flood victims aware of their right to claim and seek further enrolment of insurers who collectively paid more than $1 billion in claims following the flood.
The company said it expected to complete that process by March next year.
About 20,000 homes were affected by flooding when the Brisbane River broke its banks on January 11, 2011, following weeks of heavy rain across the river's catchment area.
The government came under scrutiny at the time for the timing of the release of water from the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams upstream on the Brisbane River.
IMF shares closed up 3.5 cents, or 2.07 per cent, at $1.725.
