Slater and Gordon is representing residents and property owners who have obtained compensation for the destructive bushfire in the Perth Hills in January 2014.
Slater and Gordon commenced the proceeding on behalf of 189 residents and property owners affected by the bushfire in the Perth Hills area against Western Power, its contractor Ventia (formerly Thiess) and a private landowner. The blaze tore through hundreds of hectares of bush, destroying 57 homes and damaging many more.
The fire started when a wooden power pole located on private property, which had been damaged by termites and fungal rot, fell and ignited ground vegetation. In July 2013, Western Power had engaged contractors, Ventia, to conduct works on the rotten pole and replace the adjacent pole. Ventia’s line crew inspected the rotten pole but did not detect that it was extensively damaged by termites and fungal rot.
In December 2022, the High Court of Australia confirmed that Western Power was liable for 50% of the loss suffered by the plaintiffs, along with Ventia and the landowner who were 35% and 15% responsible, respectively. You can access a copy of the High Court’s decision in the ‘Key Documents’ section below.
Western Power had previously resisted making payments to plaintiffs until the High Court confirmed its liability. Slater and Gordon anticipates further compensation will now be available to the Parkerville bushfire plaintiffs as a result of the High Court’s decision. Compensation unable to be recovered from the existing defendants or that had been withheld from the bushfire victims in order to pay Western Power’s costs of the original trial can now be paid to the plaintiffs. Slater and Gordon and Western Power are currently in negotiations regarding Western Power’s share of liability to the plaintiffs.
Timeline of proceeding
In 2015, Slater and Gordon filed the proceeding in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Western Power and the other defendants denied they were liable to compensate the bushfire victims.
In March 2019, the Supreme Court found Ventia and the landowner liable, however Western Power escaped liability. The plaintiffs appealed this decision to the Western Australian Court of Appeal.
In July 2020, the Court of Appeal agreed with the plaintiffs and found that Western Power was liable in negligence for failing to have a system of periodic inspection of “point of attachment” poles which, although privately owned, support Western Power’s cables and to which meters measuring electricity consumption are attached.
The Court of Appeal determined that Western Power was liable for 50% of the loss suffered by the plaintiffs, along with Ventia and the landowner who were 35% and 15% responsible, respectively.
Western Power appealed the Court of Appeal decision in the High Court. However, in December 2022 the High Court agreed with the plaintiffs and with the Court of Appeal that Western Power was responsible for the fire and rejected Western Power’s appeal.
You can access a copy of the High Court’s decision in the ‘Key Documents’ section below.
Key documents:
For more information regarding the Parkerville Bushfire Class Action, please refer to the following documents: