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Why we took Uber to court (and not the Government or regulator)
There has been some questioning of the rationale behind taking on Uber, as opposed to suing the Government or the Regulator who changed the law to accommodate Uber. It was one of the first questions my colleague Andre Baruch and I asked when we first sought legal advice on the appropriate course of action…
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We had an exciting and productive first year in Victoria’s legislative council, ending with an end to touting and 13 recommendations to work on to rebuild the broken commercial passenger vehicle industry.
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The Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Class Action against #Uber is progressing well and we expect to make some strong headway towards a resolution for registrants. We had a successful result in the court just prior to Christmas with the judge rejecting Uber's bid to dismiss the case and/or restrict it to Victoria only.
There has been some questioning of the rationale behind taking on Uber, as opposed to suing the Government or the Regulator who changed the law to accommodate Uber. It was one of the first questions my colleague Andre Baruch and I asked when we first sought legal advice on the appropriate course of action back in 2015, when it became clear that Uber was being allowed to operate outside of the law.
In 2015 I was presiTransport Alliance Australiassociation (VHCA), now Transport Alliance Australia (TAA), and we tested the legal options with a number of lawyers, barristers and QCs at different law firms. Our options were to sue the Government, sue the Regulator or sue the perpetrator, ie. Uber.
On every occasion the advice was that we would have the greatest chance that the case would be successful if we took on Uber.
We then took the case to Maurice Blackburn, who also conducted an analysis of these options – they agreed our best course of action was to mount a class action against Uber. Maurice Blackburn was able to secure funding through Harbour Litigation, who did its own due diligence on the case and agreed with all previous advice that the strongest case was against Uber. They backed that up with $20 million in funding, which means the action can proceed at no cost to registrants.
We have managed to launch a class action which will be the biggest that Australia has seen at no cost or risk to those registering, and at no cost to the members of the VHCA/TAA who instigated the action.
Anybody can take legal action against the government if they choose to, but they will need to come up with a convincing legal plan and raise the millions of dollars needed to fund their case. I wish them luck and would not hesitate to support their cause. We have chosen to pursue Uber in this instance based on the best legal advice in this country.
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Why we took Uber to court (and not the Government or regulator) – Rod Barton
rodbarton.com.au
Why we took Uber to court (and not the Government or regulator) January 28, 2020 0 Comments in News The Maurice Blackburn Class Action against Uber is progressing well and we expect to...
Peter Ariss the commission for lawyers is set if Uber settles before a judgement our lawyers get 25% If after 30% and these are overseen by the Court. Good deal considering they could lose tens of millions if we are unsuccessful and the registrants will not be exposed to any financial risk!
Any of the VH drivers that were doing Uber when it first came to Melbourne should be expelled from the case and have to pay back any compensation to the state government. They were responsible for the proof of concept that Uber would work in Melbourne. So now they should have no case for legal action against Uber. They should be sued along with Uber. I know there are quite a number of very vocal VH guys that were doing Uber at the start and now they cry foul.
Uber will just appeal and appeal any decision handed down.
Well said Rod brilliant
Thanks Rob. That has answered many of my questions. Let the professionals do what they do best. We keep going......
Only ones that will make any money out of this case are the Lawyers!!
Well done . Keep on keeping on TMP
Thanks Rod Barton. Let's keep the Faith and keep moving forward