Christina Spicer  |  December 30, 2015

Category: Labor & Employment

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Uber LogoA class action lawsuit on behalf of all St. Louis taxi drivers has been filed against Uber USA LLC, alleging the rideshare company ignores local regulations by failing to require their drivers provide fingerprints and obtain commercial licenses.

The Uber class action lawsuit was initiated by four individual drivers on behalf of the employees of 35 St. Louis-area cab companies. According to the complaint, drivers for Uber are “are functionally and legally indistinguishable from the plaintiff taxicab drivers.”

The plaintiffs further allege that the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission (MTC) issued a directive to Uber to require its drivers to obtain commercial licenses and be fingerprinted when it initially allowed the company to operate in the St. Louis area.

“Uber, with intentional and contemptuous disregard for the MTC’s authority and rules, and in disregard of the requirements that taxicab companies must comply with to operate taxicab services in St. Louis City and County, launched its services in St. Louis City and County on September 18, 2015 using drivers who do not comply with the Taxi Code’s licensing requirements for taxicab drivers,” the Uber class action lawsuit alleges.

“While there are differences between Uber and its drivers, on the one hand, and the incumbent taxicab companies and the plaintiff drivers, on the other, those differences are immaterial to the business or to the service offered to the public,” allege the plaintiffs in their Uber class action lawsuit.

According to the Uber class action lawsuit, the drivers’ estimated individual damages amount to almost $75,000, and the Class’ combined damages could total more than $5 million. “Since Uber’s unlawful entry into the St. Louis City and County taxicab market,” alleges the class action lawsuit, “plaintiffs and members of the putative Class have experienced decreases in revenue of 30-­40% compared to the comparable time-­period in 2014 resulting from a decrease in passenger calls.”

“Uber has admitted that during its first weekend of operations in St. Louis City and County, it provided passengers more than 5,000 rides,” allege the plaintiffs in their Uber class action lawsuit. “A significant portion of those rides would have gone to plaintiffs and the class but for Uber’s unlawful entry into the St. Louis City and County taxicab market.”

The MTC faced an antitrust action in St. Louis brought by Uber in response to the MTC’s resistance to Uber’s entry into the market. St. Louis city and county officials had licensed Uber to operate, but the company had not obtained official approval from the MTC. The MTC claimed that it is immune from the antitrust lawsuit because of its status as a government agency. MTC filed another lawsuit in federal court arguing that Uber’s disregard of the background-check rules could potentially endanger the public.

The plaintiffs are represented by Gary A. Growe of Growe Eisen Karlan Attorneys At Lawand Jacobson Press & Fields PC.

The St. Louis Uber Class Action Lawsuit is Vilcek, et al. v. Uber USA LLC ,et al., Case No. 4:15-cv-01900, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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