Taxi drivers score huge payout in win against Uber

Angelica Snowden, Herald Sun, 3 December 2024

More than 8000 taxi and hirecar drivers are set to claim a slice of a $271m settlement with rideshare disruptor Uber, after the Victorian Supreme Court approved a class action settlement.

On behalf of lead plaintiff Nicos Andrianakis, Maurice Blackburn will take $38m out of the total and litigation funder Harbour will take $81m almost one third of the total.

Three other class actions also brought by Maurice Blackburn against Uber were also settled on Monday and covered by the same judgment, with drivers from across the country including in Western Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queensland a total of 8701 set to be paid out a portion of the remaining $152m.

Each class action member is likely to receive a different amount, to be calculated on a claim-by-claim basis.

Supreme Court Justice Patricia Matthews approved the settlement on Monday, saying the $271m offer was "fair and in the interest of group members" after noting Maurice Blackburn and Uber had probably been negotiating since last December.

"Thousands of drivers, licence owners, operators and network service providers lost significant income and/or capital value, and many experienced substantial declines in their livelihoods, which they attribute to the entry of Uber ride-sharing services into the market," Justice Matthews said in a summary of her reasons.

"The plaintiffs claimed that they, and group members generally, suffered loss and damage by an alleged conspiracy by unlawful means by the Uber companies," she said. "They alleged that the Uber defendants had agreed or combined to commit an unlawful act, being to operate the Uber ride-sharing business contrary to regulations between 2014 and 2017, with an intention to injure the plaintiffs and group members.

These allegations were denied by Uber."

Despite approving the settlement offer, Justice Matthews conceded the returns "will not recover all that they (taxi drivers) say they have lost".