Five years ago Rob Roseworne believed he had a good chance of being fairly compensated for damage caused to his Salt Ash property and business from PFAS compensation.
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But, like a lot of other Williamtown class action members, alarm bells began to ring when he learned in March that the final settlement figure was $86 million.
After deducting costs accounting for 37 per cent of the settlement amount, about $54 million was left to be divided between approximately 500 members on a pro-rata basis.
Mr Roseworne received a letter form the class action's lawyers this week outlining his estimated payout.
"This letter contains an approximate estimate of your settlement entitlement if the federal court approves the settlement on or following 4 and 5 June 2020," the letter from Denton's Lawyers says.
The accompanying payout breakdown confirmed what he suspected.
Mr Roseworne estimates he has lost more than $200,000 off the value of his property as a result of PFAS contamination.
The letter estimates he will receive $32,986 for loss of value to his property and $32,300 for inconvenience and distress.
"All I can say is that I am disgusted and disappointed; it has not met any expectations," Mr Roseworne told the Newcastle Herald on Friday.
As the owner of a pet boarding business Mr Roseworne estimates he has lost $600,000 in earnings over five years.
For this it is estimated he will receive $9690.
"The impacts of the contamination on my business are multi levelled," he said.
"There is the reduction in business turnover in the first year after contamination was advised, the reduction in turnover for years subsequent to contamination advice to present, reduction in projected turnover for years to come and the reduction in the saleable value of a business that can not be relocated to another location."
"These factors have not been considered. All my super and savings plus effort is here in this business."
Mr Roseworne has been highly critical of the class action's lawyers and steering committee.
"The financial damages incurred to myself and others in the community are real, are able to be calculated and should have been done before attempting any settlement to protect our interests."
"This shows a class action gone wrong."
An opinion piece published in the Newcastle Herald this month on behalf of the steering committee argued that if the settlement was not approved the likely outcome was the matter would return to court in 2021, with potentially years more litigation to follow.
"Can those out there objecting guarantee that uncertain outcome will be better than the settlement in front of us? As for legal costs, what do they think will happen if we spend another three years fighting this case?," the steering committee wrote.
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Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
