The Crown will settle with Christchurch's Quake Outcasts after nearly six years of legal battle with the uninsured property owners.
Last month, the Court of Appeal ruled former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee made an “unlawful” decision to discriminate against uninsured homes during the red zone buyout, according to a Fairfax article.
Cabinet agreed to pay each of the 16 homeowners 80% of the ratable value of uninsured property improvements and a payment to account for the courts’ decision, extra uncertainties and costs, Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Nicky Wagner said.
David Milner, the father of one of the outcasts and spokesman for the group, told Fairfax Media they believe they were entitled to full value of their homes.
“I don't think it's a very good deal at all, but at the end of the day after five court cases we had to come to some sort of compromise,” Milner said. “It's nice to come to the end and a conclusion, but I wouldn't say we were 100% happy.”
Wagner said the decision to settle was not taken lightly. “As soon as we had the court's decision, we moved swiftly to provide certainty. The government carefully considered a range of factors, including fairness, financial responsibility, protecting the value of insurance and the litigants' wellbeing,” she said.
Property owners were already paid 100% of the pre-earthquake value of their land, Wagner said.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet spent $146,092 on the case, while the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority spent $519,447.
The case had been protracted, but it was pleasing to see Wagner move quickly to resolve matters after the recent Court of Appeal decision in the group's favour, Quake Outcasts' lawyer Grant Cameron told Fairfax.
“It was a sad affair because it's taken nearly six years for these people to gain certainty and to be placed in the same position as other red zone residents were, all those years ago,” Cameron said. “Without being paid the value of their homes most were unable to get on with their lives but now their recovery process can commence. We've had very positive feedback from all group members and they are all very happy with the outcome.”
Additional decisions in response to the Court of Appeal judgment will be made after the election, the Fairfax article said.
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