The Queensland Government and its statutory body, SunWater, have agreed to settle the Wivenhoe and Somerset class action for $440 million, law firm Maurice Blackburn announced today.

A spokesman for the law firm told insuranceNEWS.com.au a number of insurers took part in the class action, but no further details on that aspect are available at this stage.

Maurice Blackburn, which filed the lawsuit in 2014, calls the compensation a “record” and one that will offer closure for its clients after a long and arduous legal battle.

“It has now been ten years since the Brisbane and Ipswich floods, so this settlement is a very welcome development that we hope will bring some much-needed closure to our clients, who have had to endure significant uncertainty and frustration while the defendants fought this case at every turn,” Principal Rebecca Gilsenan said.

The settlement is subject to approval by the NSW Supreme Court and agreement on terms, with an approval hearing likely to take place before the appeal starts in May.

It comes after the NSW Supreme Court ruled in 2019 the State of Queensland, SunWater and Seqwater were “vicariously liable for any breaches of the duty of care owed by the flood engineers that they each employed” to operate the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams.

Failure by the flood engineers to follow guidelines contributed to the severity of the 2011 Brisbane floods.

Seqwater owned the dams and employed two of the engineers at that time. SunWater was contracted to provide flood management services to Seqwater and the boss of one of the engineers. The state employed the fourth engineer.

Maurice Blackburn says Seqwater, which is 50% liable for the damage, is not a party to the settlement and will continue to appeal the NSW Supreme Court ruling.