London:

A UK law firm said on Thursday that it has filed a multi-million-pound group action in the city’s High Court on behalf of 10,887 licensed London black cab drivers in their claim against Uber for alleged losses sustained as a result of “unlawful activities” in the city’s taxi market.

Mishcon De Reya said its claim filed in the Commercial Court relates to actions taken by the US-headquartered ride-hailing company dating back to 2012 under the private hire vehicle licence granted by Transport for London (TfL).

It is claimed their operating system did not comply with the requirements of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1988. Uber has denied the allegations and described the claim as “unfounded”.

“Uber has consistently failed to comply with the law that applies to private hire vehicles in London and so we are pleased to be issuing today’s claim on behalf of almost 11,000 London cab drivers,” said Richard Leedham, Partner and Head of Commercial Disputes at Mishcon de Reya.

According to the claim, drivers of London’s iconic black cabs will allege that Uber’s operating system did not comply with the requirements of the Act, that Uber knew this at all material times, and that in order to obtain its licence Uber “deliberately misled” TfL as to how that operating system worked.

The claimants further alleged that Uber’s intention was to “gain market share unlawfully” and, by necessity, take business from existing black cab drivers.

“These old claims are completely unfounded. Uber operates lawfully in London, is fully licensed by TfL, and is proud to serve millions of passengers and drivers across the capital,” an Uber statement said.

The value of the claim is estimated at around 250 million pounds, with each of the black cabbies potentially eligible for compensation, according to RGL Management – the litigation claims management company representing the black cab drivers.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

A group of more than 10,000 black cab drivers is suing Uber after accusing it of breaching taxi-booking rules in London, in a move which could cost the ride-hailing giant more than $313 million.

A group action claim has been filed in the High Court over Uber’s operations in the capital between May 2012 and March 2018.

The cab drivers claim that Uber misled Transport for London (TfL) over how it operated its ride-booking system and therefore breached private hire licensing rules.

They allege that the company allowed its drivers to accept bookings directly from customers, rather than going through a central system like minicab services.

The legal claim says that this booking system was “unlawful” because it did not comply with private hire rules, and that Uber deliberately misled TfL about how the system worked in order to get its licence.

The cab drivers say that during this time they suffered losses as a result of having fewer customers or having to work longer hours to compete with the popular app.

RGL Management has filed the group action, known as BULiT21, on behalf of the London cabbies, who are being instructed by solicitors at law firm Mishcon de Reya.

It is anticipating that the total claim value could be more than 250 million pounds, with each cab driver’s claim worth up to 25,000 pounds.

A spokesman for Uber said: “These old claims are completely unfounded.

“Uber operates lawfully in London, is fully licensed by TfL, and is proud to serve millions of passengers and drivers across the capital.”

It is understood there has been no communication between Uber and RGL Management since the claims were first raised in 2019.

RGL Management said it thinks up to 30,000 cab drivers who operate in London could be eligible to join the group and make a claim against Uber.

It is appealing for more drivers to join the action in the coming weeks.

Michael Green, the director of RGL Management, said: “RGL is pleased to file this claim form today on behalf of over 10,500 London cabbies, a major legal milestone in holding Uber to account for its failure to comply with the relevant legislation in the UK’s capital.

“There are still thousands of cabbies eligible to join who have not yet done so. A cut-off date is fast approaching.

“RGL, therefore, urges drivers to register with the BULiT21 legal action as soon as possible to join with thousands of fellow cabbies in the pursuit of losses suffered at the hands of Uber.”

Garry White, a black cab driver for 36 years, said the claim seeks “justice and fair compensation” on behalf of London drivers.

“Uber seems to believe it is above the law and cabbies across London have suffered loss of earnings because of it,” he said.

Uber has previously faced issues over its licence to operate private hire vehicles in London.

It was denied a licence by TfL in 2019, over concerns that passenger safety had been breached and there were issues around transparency.

But it was allowed to continue operating and then in 2022, it was granted a two-and-a-half-year licence in London.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Uber has agreed to pay $178 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Australian taxi operators and drivers. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Uber has agreed to pay A$271.8 million ($178 million) to settle a lawsuit brought by Australian taxi operators and drivers, who say they lost income when the ride-hailing company moved into the country, a law firm said on Mrach 18.

The settlement is Australia’s fifth-largest, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said in a statement.

The class action suit was filed in 2019 in the Supreme Court of Victoria state on behalf more than 8,000 taxi and hire car owners and drivers, accusing Uber of breaking laws requiring taxis and hire cars to be licenced.

Uber’s 2012 arrival in the market took revenue from licenced taxi drivers while destroying the value of the licences they had paid for, according to the lawsuit.

Uber had said it never knowingly broke the law.

“Uber fought tooth and nail at every point along the way,” Maurice Blackburn Principal Michael Donelly said in a statement.

“After years of refusing to do the right thing by those we say they harmed, Uber has blinked,” he said.

An Uber spokesperson said in an email that the company had contributed to state-level taxi compensation schemes since 2018 “and with today’s proposed settlement, we put these legacy issues firmly in our past”.

Uber did not disclose the proposed settlement in its response.

Former lawmaker and taxi driver Rod Barton, a member of the class action, said the settlement vindicated his belief that Uber had knowingly avoided the country’s taxi licencing rules.

“They knew full well they were required to have their drivers and their vehicles fully licenced,” Barton told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“They chose not to do that, and they did a lot of things that gave them a commercial advantage against the taxi industry, which established their foothold,” he added.

The law was changed in 2015 which allowed Uber to operate without taxi licences while state governments set up compensation schemes for taxi drivers and licence owners.

Sydney:

Australian taxi drivers impacted by the rise of ridesharing giant Uber have won US$178 million in compensation, their lawyers said Monday after settling a gruelling legal battle. 

More than 8,000 taxi drivers and hire car owners banded together to launch legal action in 2019, arguing they lost substantial income when Uber entered Australia in 2012.   

Lead lawyer Michael Donelly said the A$271.8 million (US$178.3 million) settlement was the “fifth highest class action settlement in Australian legal history”.

“Uber fought tooth and nail at every point along the way, every day, for the five years this has been on foot — trying at every turn to deny our group members any form of remedy or compensation for their losses,” said Donelly, from legal firm Maurice Blackburn. 

“But on the courtroom steps and after years of refusing to do the right thing by those we say they harmed, Uber has blinked, and thousands of everyday Australians joined together to stare down a global giant.”

Lawyers alleged that Uber engaged in “a variety of shocking conduct” when it launched in the country, including using “unlicenced cars with unaccredited drivers”. 

Taxi driver Nick Andrianakis told reporters he was forced to close his taxi business of 40 years when Uber launched.  

“I lost my passion for work… and I lost my income that provided food on the table for my family,” he said.  

Uber said it was “inappropriate” to comment on the size of the settlement until it was signed off in court. 

“When Uber started more than a decade ago, ridesharing regulations did not exist anywhere in the world, let alone Australia. 

“Today is different, and Uber is now regulated in every state and territory across Australia, and governments recognise us as an important part of the nation’s transport mix.” 

The US-based company, worth US$157 billion, said it had made “significant contributions” to Australian taxi compensation schemes.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)