Family to Ask Court to Stop Hamilton V8 Supercars
www.legalrevolution.co.nz
Family
to Ask Court to Stop Hamilton V8 Supercar
Championship
A New Zealand family will take on some of Australia’s biggest companies including Seven Network and Telstra in defence of their family home in a landmark court action that could see next week’s V8 Supercar race called off.
The Smart-Haitana family are lodging an injunction application to stop the popular car race after organisers refused to compensate them for surrounding their home by fences, barricades, TV cameras and thousands of crazed fans for almost a week.
“They are going to barricade us inside our home for five days,” said homeowner Paul Smart.
“I will literally not be able to get out my driveway. It is blocked. My floor vibrates when the cars go past. These millionaire investors are effectively putting us under house arrest.”
In the past, V8’s previous owners paid the Smart-Haitana family’s travel expenses so that they could escape the noise and inconvenience of the annual race. But the agreement has not been honoured since Australian private equity outfit Archer Capital bought V8 in a $300 million deal.
Instead, the new promoters are offering the family just six three-day passes to the event.
“This heavily-resourced company has run us a around for a year together with the Hamilton City Council,” he said.
“Now I face a four day siege in my home with my partner and two children. We have lived here for 20 years, I can’t believe major sponsors like the Seven Network, Telstra and the ANZ would think this an acceptable way to treat people.”
“What do I need a pass for? The race happens six metres from my front door, I have to push through the crowd to get out of my street,” he said.
Mr Smart said apart from the immense disruption he was worried about the safety of his children which was one of the reasons he would file an application for an injunction to stop the race in the High Court in Hamilton this week.
“I don’t hate the race. I know a lot of people love it and it’s great for the local economy, but this is my home and that should count for something. I can’t invite 20,000 people to the street of these Archer Capital people without asking their permission,” he said.
Mr Smart said he understood confidential payments had been made with commercial parties who have had to close their businesses during the race.
Mr Smart said he knew just how bad it was during the race because the V8 promoter refused to pay up last year.
“The noise levels were sickening: it was not possible for the family to talk to one another during the event, the floorboards in their home vibrated. The noise is not from the V8’s alone but from the PA systems and the helicopters constantly overhead. As well as the noise, the toxic fumes of smoke and burnt tires fill the home and there is no escape for the family. TV cameras and spectators surround the house and completely deprive the family of privacy in our home and yard,” he said. “I’m not going to put my family through that again.”
In correspondence with the family Adam Firth, General Manager Legal and Commercial for V8 Supercars Australia, dismissed the affect of the event on the family as “very mild and is certainly not actionable or warranting legal remedy”.
He went on to state that
the event meant that “harm was less likely to
befall” the family’s
cats.