Dearborn Heights Limo Company Sues Uber for Racketeering

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DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI – A Dearborn Heights limousine company is suing the Uber ride-sharing company and the state for racketeering, according to a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

In the lawsuit, the owner of Entertainment Express Limousine and Party Bus claims that Michigan Department of Transportation officials give Uber drivers an unfair advantage by not holding them to the same laws traditional limo and taxi companies must follow, the Detroit Free Press reports.

“There is no rational basis for (MDOT officials) to have imposed rigorous, costly and time-consuming requirements on plaintiffs, while not imposing those same requirements on Uber and Uber drivers,” the lawsuit states.

“It’s just unfair business practice,” Patrick Mifsud, who owns the Dearborn Heights limo company, told WXYZ-TV.

Also named as defendants are six MDOT employees and managers, and the commander of the Michigan State Police commercial vehicle enforcement division.

Mifsud lost his operating license in November for keeping vehicles state inspectors said are unsafe in its fleet, which includes 25 party buses and 12 limos.

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Mifsud said his license suspension stemmed mainly from his failure to display state inspection decals on his vehicles — something Uber doesn’t have to do. He claims that he was targeted by MDOT after complaining that Uber drivers were given a free pass.

Mifsud has applied to get his license back, but even if he does, competing against Uber on an uneven playing field will be difficult, he said.

“Uber is going to knock out all the taxi companies and all the lower-scale people and they’re gonna control the market,” Misfud told the TV station. “That’s my opinion.”

The lawsuit could rekindle the debate over whether companies like Uber drivers should be required to buy expensive commercial grade auto insurance, get chauffeur’s licenses and comply with MDOT safety and inspection rules, or if they should operate outside of regulatory framework.

Detroit cab drivers have also complained that Uber and its competitors can raise rates at any time, while cab drivers are generally held to a one-fare rate.

MDOT previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to Uber, but the agency doesn’t have the authority to enforce it, according to an earlier report in the Free Press.

Bills proposed in the Michigan Legislature to regulate ride-share companies the same as traditional taxi and limo companies are stalled.

» Photo illustration using images licensed under Creative Commons