U.S. Second District Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard J. Sullivan, on June 30, approved a settlement of up to $140 million for about 19,500 Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC)-licensed drivers over what was called “an unfair enforcement policy.” The drivers say their licenses were suspended after an arrest – meaning they could not work – even though the charges were often later downgraded or dropped. The 20-year battle included taxi, app-hail and traditional black car and livery drivers whose licenses were suspended between June 28, 2003, and Feb. 18, 2020. The TLC has since modified its processes.
The $140 million settlement fund could pay out up to $36,000 per person, plus $15,000 for named plaintiffs. Judge Sullivan said the proposed settlement is believed to “be the largest due-process settlement ever reached by the City of New York” and “one of the largest due-process settlements in the nation.” One-quarter of the settlement, or $35 million, will go to attorneys.
Manhattan lawyer Daniel Ackman, who filed the initial complaint in 2006, said the TLC, for many years, suspended licenses “based on an arrest, not a conviction,” while denying “drivers fair post-suspension hearings.” He argued that drivers unconstitutionally lost their licenses automatically upon arrest, with little to no chance of appeal.
Source: amNY
