The Victorian Court of Appeal has dismissed a legal challenge by Powercor over the 2009 Horsham Black Saturday bushfire.

The electricity company decided to appeal against a ruling that it pays for work carried out by volunteer labour on a Horsham property.

The court found Laurence Thomas was entitled to recover the cost of repairs to his fences and stockyard damaged in the bushfire.

The class action against Powercor for causing the fire, affecting more than 300 properties in the Horsham area, was settled last year.

Mr Thomas’ lawyers Maddens say this ruling will have an impact on the other settled bushfire class actions arising from faulty powerlines at Beechworth and Coleraine.

A class action on the Kinglake bushfire will go to trial next January.