Uber defeats High Court lawsuit brought by London’s black-cab drivers

Uber has defeated a mass lawsuit from London’s black-cab drivers, defusing a multimillion-pound legal threat facing the San Francisco-based ride-hailing app over its disruptive expansion in the UK capital.

The High Court on Monday dismissed a claim brought by 13,300 cabbies that accused Uber of misleading regulators and using secretive software, including a “kill switch” that was alleged to have been able to lock computers during police raids.

Mr Justice Birt ruled that the case had been brought too late, allowing the tech company, which denied the claims entirely, to thwart the legal challenge without a full-blown trial.

The case centred on tactics Uber was alleged to have deployed when it launched in London in 2012 and upended the city’s historic taxi trade.

The drivers, represented by law firm Mishcon de Reya, sought up to £25,000 each in damages. At the time the claim was filed in 2024, the claimants’ representatives said its value was estimated at a minimum of £250mn.

The cabbies alleged that Uber operated unlawfully between 2012 and 2018 by allowing Uber drivers to accept passenger bookings directly on their smartphones rather than through a licensed pre-booking system.

Recommended

Private hire minicabs in London are not allowed to take bookings from the street, a practice known as “ply for hire”, which is a right reserved for black cabs.

The claimants contended that Uber made false statements to officials at Transport for London by saying its servers accepted the bookings before passing them on to drivers.

Software that Uber was said to have deployed internationally included “Greyball”, which showed regulators dummy app screens with phantom vehicles, and “Ripley”, the so-called “kill switch”.

Under English law, such cases must be brought within a six-year timeframe, though claimants have more time if they can show that the defendant concealed wrongdoing.

At a “preliminary issues” trial this year, lawyers for the drivers argued the limit should be extended because details of Uber’s alleged deception became apparent only after evidence emerged in a public licensing appeal.

However, the judge rejected this argument, ruling that the cabbies had enough information to bring the claim on time.

The delay in bringing the unlawful means conspiracy case was caused in part by litigation funding. The cabbies’ initial financial backer, Harbour, withdrew its support in 2019. Another funder, RGL Management, later took on the case.

Uber said in a statement: “Uber is proud to work with thousands of private hire and black cab drivers to serve millions of passengers across London. We are pleased that the court has dismissed all of these claims entirely at the earliest opportunity and the ruling today has put these legacy matters firmly in the past.”

Mishcon de Reya said the judge had found against the claimants on “in our view, a very narrow basis” and that it was “considering grounds for any appeal”.

Uber has made inroads to mend relations with taxi drivers in recent years, after initially facing strong opposition from the black cab lobby. The company has made repeated efforts to attract black cab drivers to also work through its app, with users able to call cabs through Uber since 2024.

After initially upending the taxi market, Uber is now facing its own challenge from autonomous vehicle providers such as Waymo, which are threatening its dominance with a new wave of disruption.