Postby rspann » January 26th, 2017, 2:03 pm
See also: Uber protests and legal actions
Taxi company protesting against Uber – Budapest, January 18, 2016
Uber drivers on strike at Montparnasse, Paris, February 3, 2016
A protest against Uber by taxi drivers
Uber is the subject of ongoing protests and legal action from taxi drivers, taxi companies, and governments around the world who are trying to stop Uber from operating in their areas. These groups say that Uber presents unfair competition to taxis because the company does not pay taxes or licensing fees; that it endangers passengers; and that drivers are untrained, unlicensed and uninsured.[citation needed] Lawsuits come from Uber drivers as well, who sometimes complain about being practically Uber's employees without enjoying the rights and remedies of this category of workers under employment law. As of mid-2015, protests had been staged in Germany, India, Spain, Colombia, France, Italy, Denmark, Canada, China and England, among other nations, and dangerous incidents involving passengers have been documented.[140][141] Uber executives were arrested in France in June 2015. In December 2014, Uber was banned in Spain and in two cities in India. Uber continues to be involved in disputes with several governmental bodies, including local governments in the U.S., Australia and Brazil.
Governments have been largely unable to stop Uber's operations in their jurisdictions because its operations are conducted primarily over the Internet. Many have called for governments to relax legislation in favour of Uber.[142] At city jurisdictions, this might be easier to achieve.[143] In addition, Uber is said to use extremely aggressive tactics such as bullying and hiring investigators to "dig up dirt" on journalists who criticize them.[144] Portland, Oregon's transportation commissioner called Uber management "a bunch of thugs".[145] A commissioner in Virginia who opposed Uber was flooded with emails and calls after Uber distributed his personal contact information to all of its users in the state.[146]
The Australian New South Wales government created a taskforce to look into the Uber problem stating that the existing regulatory framework is "difficult to enforce", and therefore not as effective as it could be. The taskforce also noted that ride sharing services "appear to meet the criteria of a public passenger service" under the 1990 Act and drivers are therefore required to pay local government services tax GST.[147] This is despite the fact Uber claims that it is not a taxi service and should not have to operate under taxi regulation.[148][149]
Lawsuits by private entities[edit]
On December 31, 2013, Uber driver Syed Muzaffar ran over and killed six-year old Sofia Liu in San Francisco, severely injuring her mother and brother in the same incident. The driver was logged in and waiting for a fare, but not carrying a passenger, at the time of the accident. Liu's family filed a wrongful death claim against Uber, claiming that this made Uber responsible for the driver's actions.[150][151][152] Uber deactivated Muzaffar's account after the accident. Syed Muzaffar was arrested on the scene and was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter on December 8, 2014.[153] Uber said in a written statement that all drivers had undergone a "stringent" background check, and Muzaffar's was "clear". Muzaffar had been arrested in Florida in 2004 on a reckless driving charge, but California law prohibited private background check services like Uber's from reporting arrests and crimes more than seven years old.[154] Syed Muzaffar's vehicular manslaughter trial was scheduled to start August 5, 2015. In July 2015, Uber reached a settlement with the family for an undisclosed sum.[155]
In September 2014, a class-action lawsuit was filed by Atlanta, Georgia taxicab drivers and CPNC holders as the plaintiff class, against Uber Technologies, Inc., its subsidiary Raiser LLC (which operates UberX), and in a rare move, all of both companies' drivers as a defendant class in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, for restitution of all metered fares collected via the Uber and UberX apps for trips originating within the Atlanta city limits.[156] In December 2014, Checker Cab Philadelphia and 44 other taxi companies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that Uber was operating illegally in the city.[157][158] On March 3, 2015, U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro denied a motion for a preliminary injunction against Uber.[159]
On January 29, 2015, a 25-year-old Delhi woman who claims to have been raped in her city by Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav filed a lawsuit against the company for negligence in US courts.[160] The plaintiff filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the case on September 1, 2015, which was granted September 2, 2015.[161] In May 2015, the Milan Court banned Uberpop alleging "unfair competition" and violation of the local jurisdiction regulating taxi services. The lawsuit was originally initiated by the Italian taxi drivers union.[162]
In July 2015, a $400M class-action lawsuit was filed against UberX and UberXL in Toronto, Canada on behalf of Ontario taxi and limo drivers, brokers, and owners. The statement of claim alleged that UberX and UberXL violated section 39.1 of the province's Highway Traffic Act by having unlicensed drivers picking up passengers and transporting them for compensation.[163] In March 2016, Sukhvir Tehethi, a local taxi driver, filed an injunction against Uber. Toronto's city council amended a bylaw in October 2015 and, according to Tehethi's lawyer, Uber drivers are in violation of it. Tehethi decided to take action saying that it could be months, or even years, if he waits for City Hall to act.[164] In January 2016, a $1.5M lawsuit was filed against Uber in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Sergei Lemberg on behalf of a Philadelphia taxicab medallion owner. The suit claimed that Uber engaged in tortious interference with a prospective business advantage and engaged in false advertising under the Lanham Act.[165]
