Success in class action for business disruption due to Sydney light rail roadworks

A recent Supreme Court judgment may open the way for businesses to claim damages from the government if they lose income due to business disruption as a result of major road works.

Construction of light rail causes significant business disruption

Two Sydney small business owners took Transport for NSW to court after they lost income due to the lengthy construction of the 12-kilometre light rail which runs through the city and on to Randwick.

Hunt Leather store in George Street and Ancio Investments, which owns a Thai and an Italian restaurant, led a class action lawsuit by 300 retailers and residents against the state's transport agency.

The businesses claimed that the five years of noise and disruption alongside the trackwork had caused financial losses and personal trauma. (Please see Hunt Leather Pty Ltd v Transport for NSW [2023] NSWSC 840.) The court ruled that the two lead plaintiffs had succeeded in proving the construction caused substantial