Bushfires are a recurring feature of life in Australia. The 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria and the 2013 Blue Mountains bushfires demonstrate that such fires have the potential to affect people and property on a vast scale. Often, as people affected by bushfires come to terms with the extent of the damage, a range of parties (including landowners, corporations and public authorities) may be drawn into class actions or other proceedings, including coronial inquiries.
In this CPD, Hernan Pintos-Lopez and Tim Hackett examine common themes that arise in bushfire class actions and litigation, with a particular focus on negligence claims and the liability of public authorities.
1 CPD point in Substantive Law.