Insurance brokers who feel that UberX drivers skirt commercial insurance regulations may have renewed hope for redress: taxicab owner Dominik Konjevic is taking Uber Canada to court on behalf of all taxi and limousine owners, drivers and brokers in the province of Ontario, reports Global News.
Konjevic, a licensed taxi owner and operator since 1968, has filed a class-action suit seeking more than $400 million in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In addition to compensatory damages, he also hopes to be awarded $10 million in punitive damages and an injunction that ceases UberX services throughout Ontario.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I’m going to fight to the end and I’m positive that something is going to be done,” he told Global News.
While one of his primary grievances centres on the disparity in licensing requirements, insurance is also a main driver of the litigation. He especially feels that Toronto mayor John Tory’s support of the ride-sharing service undermines Ontario laws governing auto insurance obligations.
“I mean, if you want to operate your taxi or your own car, you cannot drive without insurance,” said Konjevic. “These people are doing it, they don’t have commercial insurance.”
Insurance professionals in Ontario echo this sentiment, with some arguing that the status quo has created a two-tiered system where one party has to play by the rules and the other does not.
“How much more unfair can you get it?” said one Milton-based broker in an earlier interview with Insurance Business. “What will be the next thing? Are companies going to start hiring their own police, and these police will be subjected to certain restrictions, conditions and bylaws that regular police aren’t?”
Uber Canada has called the action a “protectionist suit” and contends that is “operating legally and is a business model distinct from traditional taxi services.” It recently launched a new service in Hamilton, and the company alleges that “hundreds” have already signed up as drivers.
