THE TLC SUSPENSION POLICY
For many years, the TLC has pursued a dubious and unusual policy of suspending the license of taxi drivers who were arrested—not convicted, just arrested—for any felony or for long list of misdemeanor offenses without any regard for the facts or the driver's record. Also, for many years, the post-suspension hearings were a complete sham and not a single driver was reinstated through that process. That situation changed because of a landmark case called Nnebe v. Daus which Dan and David Goldberg won on appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2019. In the Nnebe case, drivers successfully argued that the TLC suspended their licenses without meaningful due process. The Court ruled that the TLC's program was therefore unconstitutional.
The Court of Appeals ordered that the City must give drivers who are suspended a fair hearing where a neutral judge must consider the context of the arrest (such as the charges, the circumstances, mitigating circumstances and whether the alleged crime was on duty) and the driver's record overall. Under the current process, “The TLC must show that the charges, even if assumed to be true, demonstrate that the continuation of the License . . . would pose a direct and substantial threat” to public safety.
Now drivers actually have a good chance of winning their hearings and being reinstated— if they demand a hearing. If you are a taxi driver and your TLC license has been suspended on arrest, you should absolutely demand a hearing and seek reinstatement. Dan has won reinstatement for dozens of drivers who were suspended on arrest.
In addition, drivers who are members of the Nnebe class are entitled to money damages if they have signed up for jury trials or from settlements. Unfortunately, to date, however, the district court has only scheduled a trial for ten drivers. But the good news is that the drivers won ten out of ten cases and won substantial money damages in each case.
Call us at 917-282-8178 or e-mail [email protected] to discuss your case.
We can make a difference and get you back on the road.
