The class action arose out of the events surrounding the death in police custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee on 19 November 2004, the subsequent protests by the community, which led to the police station being burned down on 26 November 2004, and the police response to those protests. The first applicant in the class action, Lex Wotton, was alleged to have been the "ring leader" in what police called the "Palm Island riot", and was subsequently convicted of "riot causing damage".
