A defamation case against Channel Nine will proceed after the Queensland Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the prominent Wagner family.
Wagner Group's Denis Wagner and his brothers are suing the Nine Network and its associated broadcasters over a 60 Minutes story they say implied the family was responsible for the deaths of 12 people in the 2011 Grantham floods.
In a 2016 hearing, Supreme Court Justice David Boddice ruled to strike out parts of the Wagners' statement of claim, saying the broadcast did not necessarily imply the family "was responsible for the catastrophic flood", even though it referred to the family's quarry wall bursting and causing the disaster.
Justices Philip Morrison, Anthe Philippides and Margaret McMurdo today agreed to allow the appeal to go ahead, setting aside the orders of Justice Boddice.
Justice Anthe Philippides found the broadcast was capable of conveying the Wagners caused the flood by failing to take steps to prevent the quarry wall from collapsing.
"The statements that the deadly flood was a 'man-made' intervention and that what occurred was 'not just a freak flood but a man-made catastrophe that should have been avoided but wasn't' were capable of being understood as conveying that someone was responsible," she said.
Company director Denis Wagner told the ABC he welcomed the court's decision.
"We are looking forward to progressing the case in court," he said.
Last year, a commission of inquiry by Walter Sofronoff QC cleared the family of any responsibility, ruling their quarry played an insignificant role in the flood.
Mr Sofronoff said Denis Wagner, who owned the quarry, and his family had been unfairly targeted as the culprit for the flood.
Nine Network has been contacted for comment.
