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Tuesday 20 October 2020.

If you were affected, you have until 17 November to join.

The class action being brought against the Federal Government due to the effects of its 2011 ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia has cleared another hurdle, with the case management hearing proceeding on 1 October.

The below report details how you can get involved and expected next steps, prepared by AgForce corporate partner McCullough Robertson Lawyers.

Queries should be directed to Trent Thorne on (07) 3233 8544 or tthorne@mccullough.com.au.

Update on live export class action

  1. The case management hearing for the live export class action finally proceeded on 1 October 2020. 
  2. During the hearing, the following dates were provided as a rough guideline of future steps to be taken:
    1. notices to be distributed to group members before 29 October 2020; and
    2. next case management hearing – 11 December 2020.
  3. The notice has now been finalised and it states that, should a group member wish to bring forward an individual claim for damages, they will need to supply the Commonwealth with evidence of their losses.  The notice does not outline a specific manner for the information to be provided.  We expect to receive more information in relation to this in the future.  Critically, stakeholders have until 17 November 2020 to apply to join the class action group.
  4. The Australian Farmers’ Fighting Fund (AFFF), which has to date been paying Brett Cattle Company’s fees, intends to seek orders requiring group members who do not engage MinterEllison for this next stage to pay to the AFFF:
    1. a proportionate share (on a pro rata basis) of the costs incurred by Brett Cattle Company in the proceeding so far.  This order has not yet been made, but it seems to be an attempt to facilitate fairness, as all group members are to benefit from the extensive litigation that Brett Cattle Company has engaged in; and
    2. 10% of any amount they recover from the Commonwealth.  Again, this order has not yet been made, but would be consistent with the order the AFFF is seeking in respect of group members who will be represented by MinterEllison (to also contribute 10%).
  5. If you would like to discuss your potential to join as a group member to the proceedings, or receive a copy of the notice, please contact Trent Thorne from McCullough Robertson Lawyers on (07) 3233 8544 or tthorne@mccullough.com.au.
Keywords: live export, law