Georgia Supreme Court Upholds Ridesharing Law

Georgia’s highest court has handed a victory to ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft.

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Atlanta taxi drivers and upheld a state law regulating and allowing the ridesharing services.

Justice Carol Hunstein wrote in the unanimous opinion that taxicab drivers do not have a constitutionally protected “exclusive right to provide rides originating in the city limits which charged fares based on time and mileage.”

The Georgia General Assembly in 2015 passed a law that included authorization and regulations for ridesharing services.

Atlanta taxi drivers sued the state, saying the city-issued medallions they have to buy to give them the exclusive right to operate vehicles for hire and that the law diluted the value of those medallions.