Taxi drivers are proposing a “nominal fee” on Uber and taxi rides in the City of Ottawa to cover the cost of a potential settlement in the class-action lawsuit over the city’s handling of Uber’s arrival 10 years ago.
The lawyers representing Ottawa’s cab drivers and companies say the proposal would “avoid burdening” taxpayers with a potential multi-million-dollar cost to the city’s budget.
In May, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled the city was negligent in its enforcement of the Taxi Bylaw when Uber began operating in Ottawa in 2014. Metro Taxi Ltd., Coventry Connections president and CEO Marc Andre Way and taxi plate holder Iskhak Mail filed a class action lawsuit against the city in 2016, seeking $215 million.
The damages will be decided at a later date, with the judge recommending the two sides consider the judgment before determining the next course of action.
In a letter to the city’s lawyers, obtained by CTV News Ottawa, lawyer Thomas Conway says the taxi drivers “wish to explore” whether the parties could avoid further litigation through a renewed effort to settle, including appointing a mediator to facilitate the discussions.
“With a new City Council and a shift in public opinion, there may be a window of opportunity for the City and the plaintiff class to put this litigation behind them and to renew the cooperative and productive relationship between the parties,” Conway writes.
In the letter, dated May 28, Conway proposes to “renew the idea” that a potential settlement could include a “funding mechanism of a nominal fee charged per ride” on all private transportation companies, including taxis, Uber and Lyft rides.
“This approach would enable the City to recover the settlement amount through these fees from those who use private transportation and taxi services and would avoid burdening the City’s ratepayers with the cost of funding payment of a substantial award,” the letter states.
“This appears to us to be a principled option worthy of further discussion and consideration. In our view, this approach should be revisited now that the Court has determined the City’s liability to the plaintiff class.”
Lawyers representing the taxi companies and drivers initially raised the idea of a fee on private transportation rides during a pre-trial conference.
A lawyer representing the taxi drivers and companies tells CTV News Ottawa the idea of a fee to compensate taxi perform holders isn’t new, pointing to Quebec. In Quebec, a 90-cents per-ride fee was added to taxi and Uber-like services to boost compensation for taxi permit holders under a deal with the provincial government.
Lawyers for the taxi drivers are hoping to schedule a trial management conference in June to discuss a timeline for the continuation of the trial.
The city has not responded to the letter proposing a mediator to facilitate discussions on a settlement and the idea of a surcharge on taxi and Uber rides.
Superior Court Justice Marc Smith ruled the city acted negligently in its enforcement of the Taxi Bylaw when Uber arrived. Taxi drivers and companies argued the arrival of the company disrupted business and harmed their ability to make a living.
“The city’s response to Uber’s arrival was negligent, causing harm to the taxi industry,” Smith wrote. “The city capitulated to Uber’s bully tactics when it entered the Ottawa market.”
Smith said the city adopted a “defeatist and acceptance approach” to Uber’s arrival.
“Uber was permitted to defy the law openly for two years without suffering any consequences whatsoever. On the other hand, because of Uber’s blatant disregard of the law, the Plaintiffs suffered,” Smith wrote in the judgment.
“The evidence establishes that the City knew that its failure to properly enforce the 2012 Bylaw would likely cause harm to the taxi industry. A multinational giant was invading Ottawa, and because of the City’s unpreparedness and its lack of efforts to develop a plan to enforce the 2012 Bylaw, the City’s enforcement efforts against Uber drivers were ineffective.”
CTV News Ottawa has reached out to the city for comment.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond