Irish Taxi Forum
Public Area => Taxi Talk => Topic started by: watty on October 19, 2026, 06:35:51 pm
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Uber dodges £340M cabbie lawsuit after drivers miss legal deadline (https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/10/19/uber-dodges-340m-cabbie-lawsuit-after-drivers-miss-legal-deadline/5303872)
Uber has dodged a £340 million lawsuit brought by thousands of London black cab drivers after a High Court judge ruled that they'd left it too late to sue. Monday's ruling kills off two claims involving around 13,000 cabbies and former private hire companies Kabbee and Iride, which accused Uber of misleading Transport for London (TfL) to secure its operating license. The cabbies wanted nearly £200 million in compensation for lost earnings, while Kabbee and Iride sought another £140 million. But the court never got as far as deciding whether Uber had done anything wrong. The claims were filed in May and June 2024, but Mr Justice Simon Birt ruled they were too late under the six-year time limit. The cabbies insisted that they hadn't had enough evidence to allege fraud until June 2018, but the judge wasn't buying it.
<snip>
... Uber has some history here. In a separate licensing appeal in 2018, the company admitted that it gave TfL and the High Court false information about how bookings were accepted through its app. The magistrate stopped short of finding dishonesty, however, and granted Uber a new 15-month license. The judgment also revisits Greyball, Uber's software for identifying suspected regulators, and Ripley, a tool used to remotely lock computers during regulatory visits. Uber maintained that Ripley hadn't been used that way in the UK.
... The ruling is a victory for Uber, but doesn't clear it of the alleged fraud. The judge dismissed the claims because they were filed too late, without deciding whether the allegations, which Uber denies, were true.
... Uber is working with British autonomous driving startup Wayve on driverless technology. Having spent years battling London's cabbies for passengers, it's now helping develop cars that won't need drivers at all.
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Uber dodges £340M cabbie lawsuit after drivers miss legal deadline (https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/10/19/uber-dodges-340m-cabbie-lawsuit-after-drivers-miss-legal-deadline/5303872)
Uber has dodged a £340 million lawsuit brought by thousands of London black cab drivers after a High Court judge ruled that they'd left it too late to sue. Monday's ruling kills off two claims involving around 13,000 cabbies and former private hire companies Kabbee and Iride, which accused Uber of misleading Transport for London (TfL) to secure its operating license. The cabbies wanted nearly £200 million in compensation for lost earnings, while Kabbee and Iride sought another £140 million. But the court never got as far as deciding whether Uber had done anything wrong. The claims were filed in May and June 2024, but Mr Justice Simon Birt ruled they were too late under the six-year time limit. The cabbies insisted that they hadn't had enough evidence to allege fraud until June 2018, but the judge wasn't buying it.
<snip>
... Uber has some history here. In a separate licensing appeal in 2018, the company admitted that it gave TfL and the High Court false information about how bookings were accepted through its app. The magistrate stopped short of finding dishonesty, however, and granted Uber a new 15-month license. The judgment also revisits Greyball, Uber's software for identifying suspected regulators, and Ripley, a tool used to remotely lock computers during regulatory visits. Uber maintained that Ripley hadn't been used that way in the UK.
... The ruling is a victory for Uber, but doesn't clear it of the alleged fraud. The judge dismissed the claims because they were filed too late, without deciding whether the allegations, which Uber denies, were true.
... Uber is working with British autonomous driving startup Wayve on driverless technology. Having spent years battling London's cabbies for passengers, it's now helping develop cars that won't need drivers at all.
Irish born Mark Mc Gann - "One of ear owen" paid lobbyists to subvert local laws:
Key Details
• Role at Uber: He served as chief EMEA lobbyist, tasked with pushing governments—including in the UK and across Europe—to alter local transport laws to fit Uber's business model.
• The Uber Files Leak: In July 2022, MacGann leaked over 124,000 confidential company documents, texts, and emails (spanning 2013 to 2017) to The Guardian and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
• Core Revelations:
• Uber knowingly bypassed local taxi and licensing laws ("don't ask for permission, just launch and hustle").
• The company used an IT "kill switch" to block police and regulators from accessing data during office raids.
• Uber leveraged and managed driver protests and violence to pressure politicians into favorable regulations.
• Motivations: MacGann stated he came forward out of remorse for selling a false narrative to drivers about the economic benefits of the gig economy, alongside personal stress and fallout with company leadership.
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It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I wonder when NTA last audited Uber Amsterdam BV.
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Uber always win
Deep pockets
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I expect so. You notice the men complaining about how quiet it is when there's no discounts being offered on the Uber Rider app.... and that's only what they give us... I'd say a man could buy a small island with what goes in their brown envelopes.
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I expect so. You notice the men complaining about how quiet it is when there's no discounts being offered on the Uber Rider app.... and that's only what they give us... I'd say a man could buy a small island with what goes in their brown envelopes.
Do you remember how many long standing politicians stood down at the last election to "spend more time with their families"?
Most of them had at least another two decades service in them.