1 month ago
22
Residents of a retirement village have launched a class action against Melbourne Water for alleged negligence after the Maribyrnong River burst its banks in 2022 and flooded their homes.
Forty-five villas were inundated at the Rivervue Retirement Village in Avondale Heights on October 14 that year when heavy rains caused the Maribyrnong River to rise to levels not seen in almost 50 years. Dozens of residents, mostly aged in their 70s and 80s, were displaced.
The Rivervue Retirement Village on October 14, 2022.
They blame Melbourne Water for shoddy flood modelling and development approvals and filed a class action in the Supreme Court just before Christmas.
Victorian Ombudsman Marlo Baragwanath released an investigation in November that found the retirement village never should have been built as it was. Poor Melbourne Water modelling in the early 2000s and mistakes in the building plan were responsible for the 2022 flooding at Rivervue, she said.
A parliamentary inquiry also previously acknowledged “mistakes were clearly made” in the flood modelling, and found there was a reliance on mitigation work that was ineffective.
Residents have been left chasing compensation for more than three years, and lead plaintiff Stan Korkliniewski and his neighbours are now pursuing Melbourne Water for losses and damages.
Korkliniewski paid $585,000 for his 99-year lease in 2018, according to the writ, which alleges the market value of leases in the retirement village has plummeted as a result of the flood.
Through the class action, residents are seeking compensation for the cost of repairing and replacing property; temporary accommodation; higher insurance; higher village levies; loss of value on their leasehold; and for distress.
Mayweathers law firm partner Steve Vrtkovsi, who is acting for the claimants, told The Age losses varied between group members but they were “material and potentially very significant”.
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“The claim is focused on seeking accountability and compensation for residents who were impacted by the alleged conduct of Melbourne Water,” he said.
The 45 villas that were affected by the floods were uninhabitable for at least six months, the ombudsman said. A further two villas had minor damage, and shared community spaces were also inundated.
Vrtkovsi said the class action was open to all Rivervue properties, including current and former leaseholders and the legal representatives of residents who have since died.
Last year the state government rejected a recommendation from the parliamentary inquiry to pay for flood-prone homes to be retrofitted or raised. The inquiry stopped short of calling for a government buyback scheme, arguing it would be too costly.
The ombudsman has since recommended the government compensate Rivervue residents who sell their leases at a loss. The government is yet to formally respond to that recommendation.
“Melbourne Water’s rushed and flawed flood modelling used during early site development under-predicted flooding,” Baragwanath’s report, When the Water Rises, reads. “This meant homes were set too low from the start. Mistakes in approved building plans saw some homes built lower still, without a full safety buffer.”
Rivervue Retirement Village during the 2022 floods.Credit: The Age
The ombudsman said the state’s decision in 2016 to remove Rivervue from significant flood planning controls also gave a false sense of security.
The class action alleges Melbourne Water ought to have known the retirement village was flood prone but failed to take reasonable precautions and breached its duty of care.
If Melbourne Water had done its job, the writ argues, the properties never would have flooded. Or, in the alternative, group members would have been aware of the flood risk and never would have bought their leases at all.
“In purchasing their respective leasehold interests, the plaintiff and group members proceeded on the assumption that their respective villas and apartments were not, and the [Rivervue Retirement Village] was not, flood prone,” the writ says.
The class action alleges Melbourne Water ought to have known the retirement village was flood prone.Credit: Rivervue
It goes on to say group members had “no practicable ability to prevent, avoid or minimise suffering loss and damage as a result of the [village] being flood prone”.
Melbourne Water has since revised its flood modelling and maps, which reflect that Rivervue is flood prone.
Melbourne Water acting managing director Fiona Schutt said the authority had been addressing the ombudsman’s recommendations with state and local governments.
“I extend my heartfelt sympathy to all residents affected by the Maribyrnong flood event in 2022 and acknowledge its impact on the community,” Schutt said. “We have been regularly engaging with Rivervue residents as part of the Maribyrnong catchment flood mitigation study.
“As the case is now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
LLS Australia Funding Pty Ltd is bankrolling the class action.
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