GODSTONE Farm is solely liable for the E.coli outbreak that left children critically ill in 2009, the High Court has ruled.
The farm's owner, Jackie Flaherty, had tried to shift the blame to the Health Protection Agency and Tandridge District Council.
But, throwing out the case on Wednesday last week, Mr Justice Turner said the farm was wholly liable and that no responsibility lay with the public authorities.
Representing 30 affected families, solicitor Jill Greenfield, of Field Fisher Waterhouse, said: "I am sure all the families are very relieved that it is simply Godstone Farm. I think they always felt it was Godstone Farm that was responsible and we only ever pursued a claim against Godstone Farm.
"The implications of this outbreak will go on for a lifetime for many of these children. The repercussions of this will not be known for many years and we will not know whether they will have kidney failure in the long-term."
Speaking after the High Court ruling, Ms Greenfield said the case could be reopened in future to ensure the affected children continue to receive the right care.
In 2009, more than 90 people were affected by E. coli O157 after visiting the Tilburstow Hill Road petting farm, including 76 children under the age of 10.
One mum, whose twin boys were stuck down by the bacteria, is now fighting for compensation. Aaron and Todd Furnell were two years old when they were hospitalised with acute kidney failure for several weeks after visiting the farm in August 2009.
Mum Tracy Mock, of Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, is suing the farm, which admitted liability for the outbreak in January 2011.
Aaron spent six weeks on dialysis at St Thomas' Hospital in London and had to be fed through a tube. His brother Todd was discharged after 16 days but they both needed multiple blood transfusions. Aaron now has 64 per cent kidney function and Todd 80 per cent. The extent of the damage to their kidneys will not be known until they are older.
Their sister Jodie, then five, was also struck down but made a quick recovery.
The incident was one of the UK's largest-ever E. coli outbreaks – linked to an open farm and visitors' exposure to animal waste.
The farm was criticised at the time for only banning visitors four weeks after the first E. coli case was reported. The farm reopened a month later.
Legal experts say the final compensation bill could run in to millions.
No date for compensation cases has been set as complex information about each victim's health is being collated.
Representing Godstone Farm, Sarah Emerson of DAC Beachcroft solicitors said: "The farm's insurers admitted liability in 2011 and are dealing with the individual claims arising out of the 2009 E.coli outbreak. "The farm did seek a contribution from the HPA [Health Protection Agency] and Tandridge District Council to these claims, but Mr Justice Turner ruled in the High Court last week that as a pure matter of law, no duty of care was owed by those public authorities to members of the public in these circumstances." She added: "Godstone Farm's focus has always been that a visit to the farm should be an educational experience, and also a safe and memorable one for all children."