New Zealand's Crown lawyers believe The Kiwifruit Claim does not have a case as they argue the way in which the vine disease Psa entered the country was unknown, according to website Stuff.co.nz. 

The Kiwifruit Claim represents a group of New Zealand growers who last year filed a lawsuit seeking up to NZ$885 million (US$694 million) in damages from the former Biosecurity NZ - now a part of Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) - for not preventing the incursion of Psa which severely affected much of the industry.

The country's largest kiwifruit grower Seeka (NZX: SEK) has also joined the class action lawsuit, saying ‘the justice system exists for this purpose’.

The class action is being funded by Litigation Funding Limited (LPF), a group chaired by former Supreme Court judge Bill Wilson.

The Stuff.co.nz story said Queen's Counsel Matthew Dunning had told the court he would present "compelling evidence" as to how the virulent strain of the Psa bacteria had arrived in New Zealand.

He said DNA evidence had shown the disease, which devastated much of the kiwifruit industry, arrived with an import of kiwifruit pollen-bearing anthers from China in June 2009.

However, Mary Scholtens QC reportedly told the court that the official Tracing Report into the pathways by which Psa entered offered two possible scenarios.

Scholtens said it could have arrived between April 2008 and October 2010 and established itself on a gold plant, or it could have arrived "much earlier and established itself on a green plant, which showed no significant symptoms in New Zealand."

She added that in the latter scenario either a "natural or human assisted event spread Psa to a susceptible host or more favourable location."

Dunning said he would show the MPI had been had been negligent in causing Psa to enter the country, but Scholtens told Justice Dobson said there were "significant impediments" to establishing that the Crown owed the claimants a duty of care.

She said the existence of a duty was "inconsistent with the scheme and purpose of the Biosecurity Act".

As of October 2014, 30% of gold kiwifruit growers by volume had pledged to participate in The Kiwifruit Claim, with more than 15% having already completed the sign-up process and paid their one-off capped contributions of NZ$500 (US$390), NZ$1000 or NZ$1500 depending on the size of their orchard.

A lower proportion of green kiwifruit growers had signed up – about 7% by volume – as those varieties weren’t as badly affected by the Psa outbreak.

Related stories: NZKGI, Zespri slam ‘The Kiwifruit Claim’ against govt

NZ Kiwifruit Claim ‘in no way anti-Zespri’, says group chairman

NZ: Kiwifruit Claim co-founder withdraws from case

Seeka throws weight behind NZ Kiwifruit Claim

NZ: Kiwifruit Claim accuses Zespri of ‘scaremongering’

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