Mishcon de Reya has filed today a group action in the High Court on behalf of over 10,500 licensed London black cab drivers in their claims against Uber, for losses sustained as a result of Uber’s unlawful activities in the London taxi market between May 2012 and (at the earliest) March 2018.
The claim
The basis of the claim is unlawful means conspiracy arising out of actions taken by Uber to obtain, improperly, a Private Hire Vehicle Licence, as granted to them by Transport for London (TfL), pursuant to the terms of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1988. The Claimants 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 will further allege that Uber's intention was to gain market share unlawfully and, by necessity, take business from existing black cab drivers.
The claim filed in the Commercial Court today is on behalf of 10,887 London cabbies. Mishcon de Reya is instructed by RGL Management Ltd, a specialist litigation management company, acting as agent for the claimants. RGL anticipates that, following the issue of today's claim, further cab drivers will come forward with similar claims against Uber. RGL continues to process claim registrants and any further claimants will be added to the claim within weeks. It is anticipated that the total claim value could ultimately exceed £250m including interest.
Richard Leedham, Partner and Head of Commercial Disputes at Mishcon de Reya, said "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."
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