Uber won dismissal of £250 million lawsuit by London black cab drivers

Uber $UBER Technologies Inc. won dismissal of a £250 million ($333 million) lawsuit brought on behalf of London's black cab drivers after a judge ruled the claim missed the filing deadline, according to Bloomberg.

Judge Simon Birt handed down the ruling on Monday. He found that by February 2018, more than six years before the first claim form was issued, the drivers had access to the public information they needed to pursue the case, according to Bloomberg.

"As a result, the claimants' claims are time-barred," Birt said, according to Bloomberg.

The claim was lodged in 2024 for over 13,000 taxi drivers. The suit accused Uber of wrongly securing its London operating license and of illegally diverting business away from conventional taxi operators, according to Bloomberg.

Mishcon de Reya, which acted for the claimants, first notified Uber of the claim by letter in 2019, according to Bloomberg. Once a litigation funder pulled out of the case, the firm stayed silent on the possible claim, sending Uber nothing further for four and a half years.

Uber said it welcomed the court's decision to throw out every claim at the first chance and that the ruling leaves these legacy matters behind it, according to Bloomberg.

A spokesperson for RGL Management Ltd., the firm running the claim, said the drivers are "considering all options available to the claimant cab drivers with the legal team," according to Bloomberg. The spokesperson said the firm was disappointed by the outcome.

The case added to a series of legal disputes for Uber in London, according to Bloomberg. The company prevailed twice, in 2017 and 2019, in challenging Transport for London's decision not to extend its license. It also had to rework how its business operates once the U.K. Supreme Court decided its drivers had to be treated as workers.