Rideshare giant Uber will pay $271.8 million to taxi operators in a class action lawsuit, the fifth highest class action resolution in Australian legal history.
The class action, led by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, began in 2019 on behalf of the taxi, hire-car, limousine and charter vehicle industry. Close to 8000 people signed up for the class action lawsuit since it was launched five years ago.
It was in response to the losses suffered by drivers, licence owners, and operators when Uber entered the Australian market ten years ago.
On its website, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers called the settlement “historic”.
The main argument the Taxi operators and charter vehicles had against Uber was that the tech giant knew its operations were “illegal” as its drivers did not have the proper accreditation to drive customers around.
In a blog post commenting on today’s decision, Uber Australia said, “Since 2018, Uber has made significant contributions into various state-level taxi compensation schemes, and with today’s proposed settlement, we put these legacy issues firmly in our past.
“We will continue focusing on helping the millions of Australians who use Uber get from A to B in a safe, affordable and reliable manner.”
Uber said it will not be making any specific comments on the settlement until the agreement is finalised.
The Supreme Court trial that was due to begin today in Victoria will not be proceeding and the Court is now in the process of approving the settlement in the best interest of the group members.
According to the ABC, Maurice Blackburn’s fees were between $30 and $35 million, which will be taken out of the $272m and the rest will be divvied up between the plaintiffs.
This article has been updated since it was first published.