Compendium of Press Coverage:

District Court decision: 
Padberg et al v. McGrath-McKechnie et al

THE NEW YORK TIMES

May 1, 2002

Cabbies Entitled to Hearings, Judge Rules

By RANDY KENNEDY

A federal judge in Brooklyn has ruled that the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission must give cabdrivers a chance to defend themselves before it can revoke their licenses for illegally refusing to pick up people who hail them.

The decision came in a class-action lawsuit filed by a group of drivers whose licenses were suspended as part of an undercover enforcement operation to combat illegal refusals. In late 1999, the operation became much more aggressive — especially against refusals based on race — after the actor Danny Glover, who is black, protested that he had been passed by and treated rudely by New York City cabdrivers.

As part of the stepped-up operation, drivers faced immediate suspension of their taxi licenses if they were observed refusing passengers without a legal excuse to do so. Lawyers for several cabbies contended that the practice was a violation of their clients' due process rights under the 14th Amendment.

Judge Raymond J. Dearie of United States District Court in Brooklyn agreed on Friday, writing that the drivers "are stripped of their licenses before they are afforded the opportunity to present their side of the story."

But on another important issue in the case — whether the taxi commission has the power, after a hearing, to suspend or revoke taxi licenses after only the first or second time a driver has illegally refused a hail — Judge Dearie sided with the agency, saying that city laws "at least arguably" give it the authority to do so. Before enforcement became more aggressive, cabbies caught refusing passengers were generally subject to having their licenses suspended only after a second offense and revoked only if three offenses occurred within three years.

Taxi commission officials said they considered the decision a victory. They added that they had decided recently to stop suspending licenses before giving cabbies a hearing, after initial comments from Judge Dearie indicated that he would find the practice unconstitutional.

Matthew W. Daus, the agency chairman, said the ruling "truly underscores the T.L.C.'s commitment to protect the riding public from service refusals and confirms that our current practices are in full conformity with the judge's findings." Bhairavi Desai, a staff coordinator for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which is a plaintiff in the case and represents 3,300 drivers, said she hoped the decision would put the agency on notice that drivers should have the chance to defend themselves. "You'd think that the taxi industry would have already had this right for drivers," she said.

THE NEW YORK POST

COURT SLIPS OFF 'GLOVER' CABBY RULE
Wed May 1, 3:14 AM ET

By WILLIAM J. GORTA

The city's policy of immediately suspending a cabby's license for not picking up a minority fare - instituted after actor  complained that several cabbies had ignored him - was slapped down in federal court yesterday.

From now on, hacks will be entitled to a hearing before their licenses can be yanked.

The city cracked down on cabbies - instituting a sting program called Operation Refusal in 1999 - after Glover complained to the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Drivers cited for passing up minority fares had their licenses suspended on the spot - despite an existing law that said drivers could only be fined up to $300 for a first refusal-of-service offense, have their licenses suspended for a second offense and revoked for a third.

District Judge Raymond Dearie, in a decision released yesterday, - 17 months after the initial challenge by the cab drivers was filed split the difference, giving the TLC the right to suspend or revoke for a first refusal-of-service infraction, but only after a hearing.

About 500 cabbies had their licenses summarily pulled in the crackdown, and about 100 of them saw their licenses revoked,according to TLC figures.

Glover's lawyer did not return a call for comment.

"Having a hearing is nice but really not very helpful if the hearing is in front of a Taxi and Limousine Commission judge," said Dan Ackman, a lawyer for some of the cabbies in the suit.

"The TLC judges are totally beholden to the TLC and will not decide any case against the TLC."

City officials, who had ended the automatic suspension policy several weeks ago, were pleased with their half of the loaf.

"The judge's ruling truly underscores the TLC's commitment to protecting the riding public from service refusals and confirms that our current practices are in full conformity with the judge's findings," said TLC chairman Matthew Daus.

A spokeswoman for the city's Law Department said the decision would be reviewed to determine what the next step should be.

Federal court rules in favor of cabbies in "Operation Refusal"

05/01/2002
Associated Press Newswires

NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge has ruled that taxi drivers must be granted a hearing before their licenses can be suspended for illegally refusing to pick up minority passengers.

The ruling came in a class action suit filed against the Taxi and Limousine Commission by a group of cab drivers who claimed yanking their license before a hearing deprived them of a chance to defend themselves.

The suit stemmed from a program called "Operation Refusal," in which undercover police and taxi commission inspectors posing as passengers attempted to ferret out discriminatory drivers.

Cab drivers caught bypassing minorities were issued citations and had their licenses suspended and their cabs temporarily confiscated, pending a later hearing.

U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn ruled Tuesday that accused cabbies must have a right to a hearing first, before any further action against them is taken.

But the judge sided with the TLC on whether it had the power - after a hearing - to suspend or revoke taxi licenses after only the first or second offense, saying city laws "at least arguably" give it the authority to do so.

"Operation Refusal" came about after actor Danny Glover, who is black, filed a complaint with the TLC in which he claimed several taxis drove past him.


NEWSDAY

Ruling Limits Taxi License Suspensions
Bobby Cuza. STAFF WRITER

05/01/2002
A24

Taxi drivers accused of refusing to pick up blacks or other minorities can no longer have their licenses immediately suspended or revoked, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled yesterday.

A class-action suit filed two years ago on behalf of the city's 41,000 yellow-cab drivers said the practice denied them due process.

Part of a Taxi and Limousine Commission program known as Operation Refusal, the automatic suspensions began in late 1999 after actor Danny Glover protested publicly that cabbies often passed him by because he is black.

Judge Raymond Dearie agreed that the TLC cannot summarily suspend licenses pending a hearing. But the TLC can still suspend or revoke licenses after a driver has been found guilty of a service refusal.

TLC officials said the agency is already in conformity with the judge's ruling, having ended the practice of automatic suspensions earlier this month.

"The TLC remains committed to ending the practice of driver service refusal, regardless of the reasons they occur," chairman Matthew Daus said in a statement.

Officials with the city's Law Department said no decision has been made whether to appeal.

Under Operation Refusal, which was first initiated in 1996, undercover police officers and TLC inspectors pose as passengers in an effort to weed out discriminatory drivers.

After Glover's complaints brought attention to the issue, the TLC enacted tougher policies. Cab drivers who were issued citations had their licenses suspended and their cabs temporarily confiscated, pending a later hearing.

Since then, out of an estimated 500 cases, about 400 drivers have been found guilty of service refusals, and 100 of those have had their licenses revoked, said a TLC spokesman.

Meanwhile, according to the TLC's own figures, the refusal rate has plummeted from roughly 20 percent in 1996 to less than 5 percent today, the spokesman said.

THE DAILY NEWS 

TLC Curbed on Suspensions

Original Publication Date: 5/1/02

A federal judge has put the brakes on the city's policy of immediately suspending the hack licenses of cabbies caught refusing to pick up members of minority groups.

The undercover crackdown — dubbed Operation Refusal — was launched in 1999 by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani after actor Danny Glover complained publicly about cabbies passing him by.

According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, about 85% of suspensions stemmed from refusals to go to a particular destination, not racial bias.

Seven cabbies challenged the suspension policy, arguing that immediately stripping drivers of licenses was unconstitutional. Brooklyn Federal Judge Raymond Dearie agreed.

In his decision, Dearie acknowledged that service refusal is "deplorable and unacceptable," and said drivers who engage in the practice should be punished.

But suspending a license without a hearing goes too far, Dearie ruled Friday.

"Prompt, meaningful suspension hearings held less than two weeks after an alleged service refusal would meet the TLC's legitimate goal," he said.

Dearie did uphold the agency's right to suspend and revoke a cabbie's license after a hearing, even for a first offense.

Since the policy went into effect, about 500 licenses have been suspended on the spot, and about 100 were ultimately revoked, according to a spokesman for the agency.

John Marzulli

NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL

THE NEW York City Taxi and Limousine Commission violated the due process rights of cab drivers when it summarily suspended their licenses for refusing to pick up people because of alleged racial bias, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The ruling came in a challenge to Operation Refusal, a highly publicized sting operation created in 1999 after the actor Danny Glover, who is black, was repeatedly turned down by passing cabs. Eastern District Judge Raymond J. Dearie said that a taxi driver's compelling interest in keeping a license outweighed the TLC's need to discipline drivers, which did not have to be done immediately.

"Depriving the plaintiffs of a presuspension hearing violated their due process rights," the judge wrote. Judge Dearie ordered the TLC to reinstate taxicab licenses that were summarily suspended without a hearing. But the judge ruled against the drivers by finding that the TLC had the right to suspend drivers after only one offense, as long as the agency holds a hearing and issues a decision on the merits.

The drivers had argued that the City's Administrative Code precluded the TLC from meting out such a harsh punishment for two offenses or fewer, but Judge Dearie said "merely incorrect or ill-advised government action does not violate substantive due process." He said there was nothing to suggest that TLC chairperson Diane McGrath-McKechnie and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani "were prompted to act by anything but legitimate motives" in demanding the suspensions. The decision in Padberg v. Diane McGrath-McKechnie, 00 cv 3355, will be published Thursday.

Date Received: April 26, 2002