Login
Maurice Blackburn to take on Uber
Hundreds of taxi and limousine drivers across Queensland have gathered to consider participating in a national class action against Uber for operating unlawfully in Australia.
Grace Ormsby
Plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn has said it is meeting with hundreds of individuals and groups across the country this month to answer affected parties’ questions before a case against Uber is filed in the Victorian Supreme Court.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Elizabeth O’Shea, a senior associate lawyer with Maurice Blackburn, said the claim will look to represent anyone who has had their livelihood impacted by Uber’s “illegal entry” to the market in Australia.
“It was Uber that came in and exploited people by operating outside of regulations, it was Uber’s conduct that led to devastating losses suffered by our group members and for those reasons it is the multibillion-dollar company Uber and its associated entities that we are targeting in order to provide redress to those affected,” she said.
“This class action will likely be one of the biggest in Australia on any measure – the number of people involved, the potential recovery of compensation for law-abiding operators and licence holders, and no doubt the extent of the fight we are anticipating from the defendants,” Ms O’Shea continued.
“We believe that this is the best mechanism to pursue some meaningful form of justice and compensation for those who have had their lives turned upside down by Uber’s alleged illegal operation in Queensland.”
There would be no out of pocket costs or liability risk for those joining the class action, according to Ms O’Shea, as case costs are being underwritten by a third-party litigation funder.
