Uber agrees to pay Australian drivers in $178M settlement

March 18 (UPI) -- Uber has agreed to pay a $178 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving thousands of Australian drivers who lost income and license values over the rideshare giant's business practices.

The case, which was to be tried before the Supreme Court of Victoria starting Monday, was filed by attorneys with the Maurice Blackburn Lawyers firm in 2019 on behalf of 8,000 taxi and hire car drivers.

The lawsuit argued that Uber acted unlawfully when it began operating in Australia by failing to meet specific regulations on operating passenger transportation services to the detriment of their clients.

"Uber fought tooth and nail at every point along the way, every day, for the five years this has been on foot, trying at every turn to deny our group members any form of remedy or compensation for their losses," Maurice Blackburn Lawyers principal attorney Michael Donelly said in a statement emailed to UPI.

"But on the courtroom steps and after years of refusing to do the right thing by those we say they harmed, Uber has blinked, and thousands of everyday Australians joined together to stare down a global giant."

Uber confirmed that an in-principle agreement has been reached.

It said in a statement that since 2018, it has made contributions to various state-level taxi compensation schemes in Australia and that Monday's agreement puts "these legacy issues firmly in our past."

"We will continue focusing on helping the millions of Australians who use Uber get from A to B in a safe, affordable and reliable manner," it said.