Category: Blog Post

Drivers making a living off fares who argued a policy wasn’t fair for suspending their license after arrests, often downgraded or dropped, have prevailed after 20 years and obstacles along the road to judgment. United States Second District Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard J. Sullivan, on June 30, approved an up to $140 million...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button near the top and bottom of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of Law.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com to submit a request for additional rights. A federal judge approved a $35 million attorney fee award—25% of a $140 million...

The TLC suspended suspended Richard Gray after he was arrestd on a felony assault charge following an argument with a neighbor. The police report said that Gray damaged the complainant’s ring camera and doorknob to her apartment and threw “a 5 pound dumbbell with intent to cause serious physical injury. The complainant was hospitalized.  Nevertheless,...

In Taxi and Limousine Comm’n v. F.B., OATH Index No. 3086/23, the driver was arrested based on a complaint by his estranged wife. The charge was criminal obstruction of breathing, a misdemeanor. The wife alleged that she got into an argument with he husband when they met in front of their home (where the wife...

This is my case, though I am not mentioned. Per the Daily News: A long-running federal suit seeking back pay for Taxi and Limousine Commission drivers whose TLC licenses were unconstitutionally suspended if they got arrested has been settled, with the city agreeing to pay out a total of $140 million to nearly 20,000 drivers. The settlement,...

In Taxi & Limousine Comm’n v. Jean Louis, the ALJ recommended reinstatement after the an Uber driver, who was respresented himself, was arrested after a domestic assault. The ALJ summarized the  undisputed evidence as establishing that driver had never been arrested before; that there had been no record of prior assaultive behavior involving passengers or members...

In TLC v. J.D., the OATH tribunal considered the case of a driver arrested for felony assault and for leaving the scene of an accident. This case seemed especially difficult since the alleged assault weapon was the taxi itself so the assault was on-duty as was the alleged leaving the scene of an accident. But...

On September 19, 2023, OATH Judge Gloade recommended reinstatement of a driver who had beed arrested and and charged with criminal obstruction of of breathing or or blood circulation (Penal (Penal Law section 121.11(a), 121.11(a), a class A misdemeanor). The driver’s wife had told the police that she and the driver had been drinking at...

On Friday I represented Ismail B., an erstwhile restauranteur and currently a for-hire vehicle driver, at a hearing challenging the suspension of his Taxi and Limousine Commission license due to an arrest. The TLC orders theses suspensions mindlessly by rote, regardless of the driver’s record and without any attempt at investigation. The TLC allows a...

While the vast majority of TLC suspensions on arrest flow from misdemeanor arrests and off-duty crimes, there are some instances where the alleged crime was on-duty and a felony. Taxi & Limousine Comm’n v. Roach, OATH Index No. 1864/23 (Feb. 3, 2023), is such a case. But I was still able to persuade the ALJ to...

I guess this is better than how Uber used to do business– running roughshod over taxi laws and rules the world over. But now it is suing NYC for raising taxi fares– apparently because it is required to pay its own drivers more in the bargain. In the lawsuit signed by Paul Weiss lawyers from...

It seems that the Westchester TLC claims the right to seize any FHV –even if the owner is completely innocent and is not even accused of any violation of WTLC rules–based on past due penalties owed by the base station with which the vehicle is affiliated. This practice is not just stunningly unfair it is...