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November 28, 2018 15:26:08
A leading Australian law firm has launched a clbad action lawsuit against Uber, as part of what it would call the "most important" lawsuit in the nation's history.
Thousands of taxi drivers and rental cars, operators and licensees in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia are expected to join the clbad action suit of Maurice Blackburn.
The case will be filed in the Victoria Supreme Court at the end of the year or early next year.
The key argument will be that Uber, who had initially operated "illegally" from 2014, had caused a considerable loss of business for the taxi industry and rental companies.
The first Australian court to legalize Uber was the Australian Capital Territory in October 2015.
Since then, all states and territories have followed – most recently, the Northern Territory in early July.
They also blame the global carpool society for flooding the market with unregulated drivers and for dropping the value of taxi permits from $ 500,000 to about $ 50,000.
"I have traveled the country to talk to taxi drivers and they all tell me the same thing: their business declined with the arrival of Uber," said Elizabeth O. Shea , senior lawyer at Maurice Blackburn.
"Uber got an unfair advantage because they did not follow the rules.
"These people [taxi drivers] have worked hard, respected the rules, done what is right and are punished for it. "
"Reimburse a license that I do not have anymore"
State governments have differed in their responses to Uber 's legalization and the "digital revolution," as former NSW PM Mike Baird said.
In December 2015, NSW set up a $ 250 million "adaptation program" to compensate taxi drivers.
In August 2016, the Victorian Labor government announced a redesign of the taxi industry, offering to buy back licenses at a fraction of their value.
This decision had a significant impact on the livelihoods of taxi drivers like Rod Barton, who joined the clbad action lawsuit.
"I am paying back a license I no longer own, which goes beyond the mortgages of most people," he said.
"I should plan my retirement with my grandchildren on the farm, but it has been removed."
Mr. Barton owned a country estate, but has since been forced to sell it and move into a rental property.
Ms. O. Shea said the lawsuit could be worth "hundreds of millions of dollars," with about 1,200 plaintiffs enrolled in Victoria so far.
Although she is confident about the case, Ms. O. Shea expects Uber – who has been sued in several lawsuits worldwide – defend the case vigorously.
Last year, the carpool company lost a case before the Federal Court that ruled that its drivers were not exempt from the GST.
Uber also launched a legal battle against Transport for London after the ban on operating in the British capital.
The company was also involved in an unsuccessful lawsuit that led the highest court of the European Union to decide that Uber was subject to taxi regulations and was not simply a digital intermediary between drivers and customers.
The Australian Commission for Competition and Consumer Affairs has also opened an investigation into its Uber Eats food delivery business, which would have forced restaurant owners to register under very difficult conditions.
Topics:
business-economics-and-finance
courts and trials,
truck transport,
the victim,
nsw,
qld,
Washington
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