Ahead of Friday’s deadline for class action participants to opt out, The Standard understands 46 people have deserted the The Sisters/Garvoc class action and 113 from the Terang/Cobden class action in the wake of an unprecedented no-cost offer payment offer from insurance companies..   

Supreme Court documents show Warrnambool’s Maddens Lawyers had 50 registered class action group members for The Sisters/Garvoc blaze and 131 for the Terang/Cobden class action. Those left in the class actions run by Maddens will have to foot the firm's legal bills if the actions are successful, which already include costs for a Supreme Court special hearing expected to top $80,000. 

One victim of The Sisters/Garvoc bushfire, Adam Bellman - who is also a Warrnambool lawyer - pulled the pin on the class action on Wednesday, saying he believed it was in his best interests to pursue his losses through other avenues.

Mr Bellman is a Garvoc resident and about 75 per cent of the property where he resides was destroyed in the St Patrick's Day bushfire.

"After weighing up all the different options, in my personal circumstance, remaining as a group member of the class action was not in my best interest," Mr Bellman said.

"I want to stress that while it is in my best interest to opt out, any other person who is considering their options should ensure they obtain independent legal advice to determine what is in their best interest.

"You need to be fully informed to make the decision which is in your best interest.

"I would hope that all parties involved turn their mind to the people impacted by the St Patrick's Day bushfire, many people are still trying to rebuild their businesses and lives. 

"The victims of the bushfires should be the focal point of any legal action.  

“Every avenue should be explored by all parties to resolve these matters without the need for expensive court proceedings. 

"Because, at the end of the day, it's the victim who will pay."

Mr Bellman said he was stunned by The Standard’s front page story this week that revealed the need to replace a degraded power pole just metres from the pole which caused The Sisters/Garvoc bushfire.  

"I encourage all parties to the bushfire proceedings, as well as our state and federal representatives, to put pressure on Powercor to have all assets in the areas impacted by the St Patrick's Day bushfires independently assessed," he said.

"Pole No.2, 9 and 11 are now marked for replacement and a further four poles have been marked with a limited lifespan on the Sparrow Spur line could have failed with catastrophic effect putting us in a similar position to St Patrick's Day 2018. This summer's fire season is being rated one of the most dangerous ever. 

"Everything possible needs to be done to ensure the Powercor infrastructure is as safe as possible.”

AN IAG spokesman said: “A very high proportion of our customers impacted by the Terang and Garvoc bushfires fires have chosen to opt out of the Maddens’ class actions.

“That is not surprising given that we have agreed to pursue recovery of our customers’ uninsured losses without seeking any contribution to our legal costs.

“This has proven to be very attractive to our customers who were concerned about shouldering the substantial legal costs being incurred in the Maddens’ class actions.”    

Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan said the insurance companies' no cost offer to victims of The Sisters/Garvoc and the Terang/Cobden bushfires was exceptional.

"The insurance companies have made a commercial decision. They have assessed their chances of success in those fires as being very, very good," he said.

"However, there were four bushfires in this region and the same no cost offer has not been made in relation to the Gazette and Camperdown fires. Victims of those fires need to be aware of their personal situations and seek independent legal advice about their best options."

Mr Riordan said there needed to be a compensation scheme that looked after all bushfire victims, "without leaving anyone to hang out to dry".

The Standard has contacted Maddens Lawyers principal Brendan Pendergast for comment.