The 770 victims of the 2013 bushfires may each receive as little as $20,000 under a settlement reached with Endeavour Energy.
Maddens, the law firm acting for the residents, has emailed details of the bottom line, revealing that the case – originally touted as a potentially $220 million-plus claim – had been settled for $18 million.
If divided evenly, this would give each resident $23,370. But the distribution will vary depending on levels of loss.
And to further deplete the compensation payout, several insurance companies have now joined the queue to receive payments.
Peter Richards, who lost everything when his Winmalee home burnt down, said he was shocked when he got the email from Maddens.
“It’s a real slap in the face,” he said. “My wife is devastated because we thought we might get back to even.
“With my first contact with the lawyers I said, ‘Did you leave a zero off the end of that number?’
“Everybody’s stunned. People are out there seething. It could push them over the edge because they were hoping it would at least cover their costs.”
He was particularly incensed that the insurance companies now wanted “their slice of the pie”.
“There’s going to be a number of groups sharing the spoils of a court case and the utility [Endeavour Energy] that had a responsibility to protect the community will walk away having provided peanuts in the grand scheme of things.
“The people who lost everything will end up with nothing,” he said.
The Supreme Court was due to provisionally approve the settlement on May 6 but, on that day, several of the insurers – including NRMA, GIO, AAMI and Suncorp – stepped in to object to the planned distribution.
With “mixed claims”, involving both insured and uninsured losses, the insurance companies believe they should share in the spoils.
The court will consider on July 15 if the settlement is “fair, reasonable and in the interests of all group members”. Individuals will then have the opportunity to lodge an objection.
Many residents have faced enormous rebuilding costs because of new regulations which cover design and the types of materials which can be used.
Mr Richards said $23,000 would represent about 10 per cent of the additional cost of rebuilding.