The High Court has cleared the way for traders along the Sydney CBD light rail corridor to seek compensation for disruption caused by the project.
The two lead businesses in a class action, Hunt Leather and a restaurant, were initially awarded $4 million.
But that was overturned on appeal.
A stumbling block for the class action was that a law which authorised the development, protected the project from liability.
Elizabeth Hunt and Sophie Hunt of Hunt Leather in the CBD. (ABC News: Liv Casben)
The development began in 2016 and was not completed until 2020 — a year behind schedule.
The final cost was $2.96 billion — an overrun of $1.3 billion — from the initial estimate.
The initial court ruling found that once the delays began, the disruption from the project became unreasonable.
That disruption included dust and noise from jack hammers, trucks and diggers, and the hoardings around the construction areas.
The appeal court found the delays could not have been foreseen and the government project was not liable.
The cost of Sydney’s light rail would eventually blow out to $2.9 billion. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
On Wednesday, the High Court found there had been substantial interference in the use of the land by the traders, and Transport for New South Wales had failed to minimise the extent of the interference when it planned and procured the construction of the project.
Up the 300 other businesses have been waiting on the ruling to see if they too could be eligible for some compensation.
And the case is being watched carefully from other places, where light rail developments have caused significant disruptions to businesses.
That includes Canberra and the Gold Coast.
But a claim by the traders to secure funds for their litigation funders was rejected by the court.