Uber has avoided a £340M lawsuit from London black cab drivers—but not on the merits. A High Court judge dismissed two claims brought by around 13,000 cabbies and former private-hire firms Kabbee and Iride. The claimants accused Uber of misleading Transport for London about how its booking system worked, and sought nearly £200M for lost earnings plus £140M from the companies. Justice Simon Birt ruled the claims, filed in May and June 2024, were outside the six-year limitation period.
The cabbies argued they only had enough evidence of fraud after a June 2018 licensing appeal. The judge was unconvinced, pointing to earlier signs: three cabbies filed their own claims in September 2017, litigation funder Harbour approached Mishcon de Reya that December, and the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association was telling members about planned action by February 2018. After a letter before action in July 2019 and Harbour pulling its funding that November, the claimants stayed quiet for another four and a half years.
The ruling does not clear Uber of wrongdoing. The judge did not decide whether the allegations, which Uber denies, were true. In a separate 2018 appeal, Uber admitted it had given TfL and the High Court false information about how bookings were accepted, though the magistrate stopped short of finding dishonesty. The judgment also revisits Uber's Greyball tool for identifying suspected regulators and Ripley, a system for remotely locking computers during regulatory visits; Uber maintained Ripley had not been used that way in the UK.
The Register's report adds that the wider battle over London's streets continues. Minicab drivers are pushing back against robotaxi plans, warning of job losses, while Uber works with Wayve on driverless technology—meaning the company that spent years fighting cabbies is now developing cars that need no driver at all.