Class Action / Settlement (But We Split in The Meantime)

Flakuciernie63 on 31/10/2023 - 21:53
Last edited 31/10/2023 - 22:01

Hi Dear OzBargainers,
After some insight ,not legal advice
Trying to maximise my options
Please read and advise

PFAS lawsuit
Split with my ex early 2020 , refinanced and buy her out September 2020, registered for class action , case won -settlement accepted August 2023,but received this from S. Lawyers

"We note that in accordance with the Settlement Distribution Scheme, if the additional information is not provided within 28 days of this request, the Administrators may determine that the additional information would have been least favourable to you and therefore only the % of the property that the registered Claimant owns will be distributed."

"Upon review of the information you provided in relation to your claimed Property, a title search has confirmed that as at the Relevant Date, you owned the property at xxxx jointly with xxxx (Other Claimant).

In order to distribute the maximum amount of compensation that is available to be claimed with respect to the Property, all eligible owners are required to be registered.

While registrations have now closed for the Class Action, for xxxxx to claim their entitlement, they will need to be added to your registration within the next 28 days."

What's the best advice/course of actions ,for me to maximise my benefit?
Cheers
Thanks in advance
DT

Financial

Comments

  • djones145 on 31/10/2023 - 21:57

    i can think of a few things that i can also post here
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/808861

  • MS Paint on 31/10/2023 - 22:00
    +2

    not legal advise

    What about spelling?

  • Wiadro on 31/10/2023 - 22:18
    +3

    what the

  • SBOB on 31/10/2023 - 22:36

    for me to maximise my benefit?

    Depends on whether the amount is worth asking a lawyer about it or not.

    • Flakuciernie63 on 31/10/2023 - 22:51

      Not sure
      Keep 50% , include her - she might get remaining 50%
      Or do not anything , and wait and might get less or more
      Just do not know

  • AustriaBargain on 01/11/2023 - 00:16
    +10

    How many partners did your ex have that you qualify as a class of people?

  • Eeples on 01/11/2023 - 00:16

    When you ‘bought her out’ was the property value lowered due to the presumed poison?

    If so, it would be right to include her and ask her to register. (Is her signature required?). When I say ‘right’ I mean it both morally and legally(ie. she could try and sue you for her share; if she found out).

    If not, I don’t know.

    Evidence for my opinion: it’s the vibe.

  • garetz on 01/11/2023 - 04:57

    Looks like each party to the lawsuit is getting about $4400, doesn't seem like its worth the effort over lawyers and whatnot.

    • GordonD on 01/11/2023 - 09:20
      +1

      Looks like each party to the lawsuit is getting about $4400, doesn't seem like its worth the effort over lawyers and whatnot.

      Believe me, I'm getting a lot more than that. When it eventually gets paid out, which will be May 2024.

      The figures published in the media divided the total payout of $132.7 million by the number of POTENTIAL claimants, which was about 30,000. But what happened was that a lot of potential cl;aimants never signed up, then a whole lot more dropped out along the way. For example one of my neighbors retired, meaning she lost her work email address, got a new private one, and forgot to tell Shine, so she stopped getting correspondence from them. Another got an email asking for bank account info, had been stung before by a scam, and didn't answer.

      Its a bit hard to get info that Shine doesn't want to disclose, but the best I can come up with for the number of ACTUAL claimants were some numbers obliquely referred to in court, which were around 5100. So instead of subtracting the 40% the lawyers and financiers of the class action suit got - yes they got about $50 million - then dividing the remainder by 30,000, divide it instead by 5100.

      This is my guess, and I emphasise it is a guess, at the rough size of a payout. As I say, Shine only tells people what they got. If you owned a PFAS affected premises, but didn't live there you got $10K for loss of property value. If you lived there and so might also have been worried your health was affected, you got another $10K. If you lived there and had a bore that you might have used to water your vegetables and so might actually have been affected you got another $50K. And if you were an Aboriginal living in the Wreck Bay aboriginal community, so your cultural connection to the land was damaged by the ground water being contaminated you got another $100K. Those are per household numbers. The Wreck Bay group are fighting about how it will be distributed on a per person basis.

      • Flakuciernie63 on 01/11/2023 - 18:55

        How do you know about payout date?

        • GordonD on 02/11/2023 - 09:36

          I can't remember whether it was an email from Shine or something that was said in the court hearing that signed off the settlement, which was video-conferenced to anyone who wanted to watch. Six weeks from then to allow for any appeal against the conditions the judge imposed, then 7 months to check all the claimant details and set up the payout process, which was going to be done by an expert in doing that. Plus when I was talking about it to one of my neighbours they realised they'd been told their payout was half the rest of us, they rang Shine, who corrected their record, and confirmed that May payout date.

  • 87percent on 01/11/2023 - 08:03

    IANAL, but speak to a professional

  • Drakesy on 01/11/2023 - 11:30

    The only winners in class actions are the lawyers.

    But yes if you combined owned the property over the time period that the class action was running for then it will need to be split.

    • GordonD on 02/11/2023 - 09:42

      The only winners in class actions are the lawyers.

      See my posting above.

      Government hands over $132.7 million in settlement of the claim. The lawyers and the financiers of the class action suit got about $50 million of that. 38%. The rest went to the claimants.

      The same lawyers are doing a number of class action suits for PFAS contamination around the country. The first time they had to do a lot of work to convince the government to settle and the Federal court to sign it off. But I would have thought it would be a lot easier the second and third time, with all the work done, and the paperwork just having to edited with the new area differences.

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