Ontario Class Action Lawsuit Against Uber

Dominik Konjevic, a cab driver operating in Toronto, has filed a $410 million class action lawsuit “on behalf of all taxicab owners, taxicab drivers, taxicab brokers, limousine owners, limousine drivers and limousine service companies licensed, permitted or authorized to operate in the Province of Ontario.”

The suit, filed by Sutts, Strosberg LLP, alleges Uber and drivers for its UberX service “conspired to provide unlawful transport for compensation,“ diverting” millions of dollars of revenue” away from the taxi and limo industry, and that Uber conspired to break Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act – which requires an appropriate licence or permit to pick up passengers for compensation – resulting in harm to the taxi industry, according to Ann Hui of The Globe and Mail

News of the suit comes out around the same time Uber announced an Ontario explansion, into cities like London, Hamilton and Waterloo.

The injustice to which the suit draws attention is that Uber drivers are not following the same regulations or pay the same licensing fees as taxi and limo drivers. And as a result, drivers like Mr. Konjevic has seen profits drop by half, according to reports filed by the plaintiff.

In an e-mailed statement, Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath dismissed the suit, stating “This protectionist suit is without merit…As we saw from a recent court ruling in Ontario, Uber is operating legally and is a business model distinct from traditional taxi services,”  referring to a recent decision by the Ontario Superior Court that found “no evidence” the company broke any bylaws or is operating an illegal taxi service.

However, Strosberg said that case revolved around municipal bylaws, while his class action will ask the judge to look at the provincial Highway Traffic Act, which uses different language.

In an interview published in the Financial Post, Kent Thomson, head of the litigation practice at Toronto law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, said the case will need to be certified before it can proceed:

“One should not assume that the taxi drivers have a meritorious claim against Uber simply because they have commenced a class proceeding…They have many hurdles they will have to overcome in order to proceed, including obtaining an order certifying the case as a class proceeding and then establishing the merits of their claims in a fully contested trial.”