Just a day after Uber reached a tentative truce in its battle with the city of New York, the ride-hailing giant has now been hit with a $400 million class-action lawsuit in Ontario, Canada.
Lawyers for plaintiff Dominik Konjevic, a taxi owner and operator, filed the suit on behalf of "all taxicab owners, taxicab drivers, taxicab brokers, limousine owners, limousine drivers and limousine service companies" registered in the province.
The filing claims that the service's UberX and UberXL options, which tend to be priced on par with or below taxi fares, "conspired" to offer unlicensed rides to customers and diverted millions from taxi and limo operators.
The suit was filed Thursday, the same day Uber announced it had expanded services to southwest Ontario and would offer free rides to new customers in an attempt to drum up business, The Canadian Press reports.
"The plaintiff alleges that [Uber] has created an enormous marketplace for illegal transportation in Toronto," representing law firm Sutts, Strosberg LLP said in a statement.
HuffPost Canada notes the relationship between Uber and Ontario's capital has been tense over past months, with some cabbies threatening to blockade the city. Toronto recently took the company to court, but the city's request to prevent Uber from operating was denied.
“This protectionist suit is without merit," a spokesperson for Uber Canada told The Huffington Post. "As we saw from a recent court ruling in Ontario, Uber is operating legally and is a business model distinct from traditional taxi services.”
CTV notes Uber drivers are now working in 25 separate Canadian cities, including Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.