From up north comes word that the Queensland Supreme Court is set to hear a proposal for a modified version of the National Redress Scheme, formulated by a liquidator and his legal advisors.
The application, which will be heard tomorrow, was brought by Peter Lucas of P.A. Lucas & Co, who was appointed liquidator of Quest Care Incorporated, a registered association, back in 2017.
Lucas is dealing with 13 claimants seeking compensation for alleged sexual and other abuse while residents of Quest Care’s New Life facilities for disadvantaged children and adults in Ipswich, Queensland.
INO understands there is several hundred thousand dollars available for distribution and that a retired Supreme Court judge has given qualified assent to the proposal, which has been designed to diminish the potential for litigiousness and costs which can affect the claims process via the national redress scheme.
Apparently the alleged abuser is deceased and the company has no insurance to the satisfy the claimants, some of whom are being represented by Shine Lawyers and Maurice Blackburn.
Depending on whether judgment is reserved or not, more details of the modified process may be available for publication on Friday.
I was at Quest care 😭