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Palm Beach County, Fla., Lets Uber Skirt Requirements, Lawsuit States

County staff has scheduled a May 20 meeting with officials from local transportation firms to discuss changes to the local rules that govern their operations.

(TNS) -- Five transportation firms have filed a class action lawsuit against Palm Beach County, claiming it is giving special treatment to one of their competitors, Uber.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in the ongoing battle over whether and how to regulate Uber, whose customers use a cellphone application to arrange for paid rides from drivers using their personal vehicles.

State lawmakers contemplated enacting regulations for Uber, but they adjourned before doing so.

Palm Beach County has repeatedly fined Uber for operating without the proper licensing. The question of how to treat Uber has split the seven-member county commission, with some commissioners believing the firm is violating local laws and should be barred from doing business here until they come into compliance. Other commissioners, however, say Uber is a technology firm and not a traditional vehicle-for-hire service. They say the county's laws don't account for a firm such as Uber.

Whenever the topic came before the commission, Uber drivers and customers flooded the inboxes of commissioners and packed meetings to plead that no action be taken to drive the firm from Palm Beach County.

In March, the county entered into a temporary operating agreement that called for Uber to pay $15,000 up front and $1,250 per month to operate at Palm Beach International Airport. The agreement, which expires Sept. 30, allows Uber to operate in the county while permanent regulations for the firm are established.

Local transportation firms, however, have said Uber is being allowed to skirt expensive county requirements with which they must comply, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

One section of the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, is called "Uber Comes To Town And Buys Special Treatment From Palm Beach County."

"Uber is a large vehicle for hire company that has a history of coming into a particular city or county and attempting to obtain special treatment so that it need not comply with local and/or state regulations with which its competitors must comply," the lawsuit states.

North County Transportation, Apollo Transportation Services, A1A Airport and Limousine Service, Metro Premier Car Service and Prestige Limousines Inc. are the firms suing the county. They seek monetary damages, a declaration that Uber is a vehicle-for-hire firm and an order barring the county from "selectively enforcing the laws of the state and county applicable to plaintiffs' business for the benefit of any (vehicle for hire) company willing to pay PBC to do so."

Attorneys representing the firms would not comment on the suit. County Attorney Denise Nieman said her office had not yet been served with the suit. She said her office will have no comment on the lawsuit, per her office's policy of not discussing ongoing legal cases.

County staff has scheduled a May 20 meeting with officials from local transportation firms to discuss changes to the local rules that govern their operations. Those suggested changes are expected to be completed by Sept. 30, when the temporary operating agreement with Uber expires.

Commissioners will have final say on whether the changes are incorporated into county law.

©2015 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.