Justice Jonathon Beach on December 20 dismissed a case on whether the VFF was legally obliged to hold an extraordinary general meeting.

The state's farm lobby group is not required to hold an extraordinary general meeting, where motions to spill leadership positions would have been presented.

Rupanyup graingrower Andrew Weidemann was one of three former Grains Group presidents leading the push for an EGM to oust the VFF directors, president Emma Germano and vice-president Danyel Cucinotta.

Lawyers for the group bringing the action had told Justice Beach the required number of members had signed documents required to trigger the EGM.

But Justice Beach found the documents were invalid.

Justice Beach also ruled the members who brought the case against the VFF have to pay the federation's legal costs.

The upset between the Grains Group and parent organisation can mostly be traced back to a decision by the VFF's board earlier in the year to liquidate the Grains Group's almost $10 million nest egg to pay down organisational debt.

The Grains Group won a sizeable stake in VicGrain after the government's sale of the Grain Elevators Board in 1996.

Then followed a series of calls for the VFF leadership to stand down and a meeting to be called, and members became increasing frustrated as they were refused.

The court was told 254 members had signed documents calling for the EGM under a statutory notice.

The validity of resolutions included in those documents calling for the removal of the president and vice president, both from their positions and as directors, was decided by Justice Beach.

There were four resolutions in the petition, to be put to a future EGM, to remove Ms Germano and Ms Cucinotta and replace them with Paul Weller and western Victorian livestock producer Georgina Gubbins.

Counsel for the VFF had contended the only way the president and vice president could be removed would by democratic process.

In the case hinged on the number of member signatures on the petition which needed to amount to at least five per cent of the VFF's total membership.

"That is central to the statutory preconditions to the issue of a valid statutory notice," Justice Beach said.

"Howsoever you cut it, the five per cent threshold is not reached ... the request is still signed by fewer than five per cent of members entitled to vote at a general meeting of VFF."

He also said the VFF constitution "does not provide an express power for the members of the VFF to remove a president or vice president by the passing of a resolution at an extraordinary general meeting".

"Further, it is arguable that the members have no express power under the VFF constitution to strip the existing President and Vice President of their roles outside the election process ... ."

The VFF will hold its annual general meeting in Melbourne on February 20.