Leaders and members of taxi drivers' representative group feels "devastated", as three taxi drivers face a multi-million legal bill after a failed lawsuit on taxi deregulation.
"Devastated" is what a former leader of a taxi drivers' representative group in Ireland feels about the High Court's decision to hit three taxi drivers with a multimillion euro legal bill. Last week, Justice Michael Peart awarded costs to Vincent Malone, Thomas Kelly, and Alphonsus Muldoon after the three taxi drivers filed a failed action suit against the Department of Environment and Local Government, as well as against two local authorities.
Judge Peart awarded a 28-day stay on the legal bill so the three drivers can set an appeal. The action suit was submitted on behalf of 1,100 taxi drivers who sought compensation after significant losses arrived due to 2000's deregulation. The deregulation downgraded taxi licenses almost overnight, causing profit losses for many drivers around the nation.
According to a report by The Irish Times, briefing documents for Paschal Donohoe, Minister of Transport, in 2014 stated that the State may have already faced claims of over 400 million euros of the lawsuit deemed success.
Tommy Gorman, former president of National Taxi Drivers Union, stated that he always thought that the costs bill would be decreased since it was a significant case even with Justice Peart's ruling in October.
"We were never expecting this. We were expecting there might be some form of mitigation, maybe some form of discretion or flexibility," said Gorman, in a report by The Irish Times.
According to Who Is Driving You, deregulations are a set of rules that are imposed to achieve better social, political, and economic results that would not be available within an open marketplace. Unlike any other industry which don't necessarily need a deregulation, the taxicab industry, according to a study, needs deregulation as an open market would be "harmful to everyone - consumers, driver and operating companies."
