A DATE has been set for Channel 9 to return to court - this time to fight the Supreme Court's ruling it pay four Toowoomba brothers $3.7 million in defamation damages.

Brothers Denis, John, Neill and Joe Wagner were awarded the damages in November last year, following what the court found were defamatory comments made by Nine's 60 Minutes program about the Grantham floods.

The court was told the 2015 report falsely alleged the family was responsible for the deaths of 12 people when a quarry wall owned by the family collapsed.

Justice Peter Applegarth ordered five Channel 9 defendants pay each brother $600,000 damages, plus $63,000 in interest.

He ordered journalist Nick Cater to pay each brother $300,000, plus $31,500 in interest.

The companies and Mr Cater are now taking the bill to the Queensland Court of Appeal, arguing it was manifestly excessive and the judge made errors in his findings over the defendants' failure to correct, retract or apologise.

The network's appeal is scheduled for May 25.

- NewsRegional