Uber finally got its day in court, but the outcome wasn’t as favorable as they’d hoped. In a 2-1 ruling, the court determined the case will be heard in Washoe County, where the National Transportation Authority filed its case on October 27, just a day before filing in Clark County.
Uber representatives are upset because they wanted the case heard in Clark County.
The company has obtained some key political support here in Reno, though, which may work in their favor in the future. According to a Reno Gazette-Journal story, Uber lobbyist John Griffin argued for a resolution to be brought before the Reno city council. New mayor Hilary Schieve is all for having the ride-sharing company do business in Reno.
Washoe County Judge Scott Freeman said he’ll “formalize his order in an official ruling Wednesday,” but it took more than six hours of arguing to get to that point.
Unfortunately, at this point, that doesn’t do Uber much good since they’re currently failing to comply with Nevada licensing requirements and are not legally allowed to do business in the state right now.
Freeman also said: “They have a great product and may be close to working out a regulatory scheme” that would treat Uber as a technology company instead of a taxi service.
KOLO’s Colin Lygren live-tweeted today’s hearing, at one point, citing the Nevada Attorney General as having said “just because it is innovative doesn’t mean they should not obey state law.”
Nobody is willing to put Nevadans’ safety at risk just so Uber can earn their keep in the state, according to testimony.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming weeks. Currently, there’s only a preliminary injunction to block the company from operating in Nevada.
