TORONTO

Cab and limousine owners and drivers in Ontario are suing Uber for $410 million.

Law firm Sutts, Strosberg LLP filed the class action lawsuit and says “UberX and UberXL have created an enormous marketplace for illegal transportation in Toronto.”

The suit’s named plaintiff is cab owner Dominik Konjevic, who alleges Uber is operating its ride-hailing service even though drivers aren’t licensed as required by the Highway Traffic Act.

The lawsuit seeks $400 million in compensatory damages, $10 million in punitive damages and an injunction prohibiting UberX from continuing to operate in Ontario.

Word of the lawsuit comes on the same day Uber announced it’s expanding into several southwestern Ontario communities, including Guelph and Hamilton.

An Uber Canada spokesman called the suit “protectionist” and “without merit.”

“As we saw from a recent court ruling in Ontario, Uber is operating legally and is a business model distinct from traditional taxi services,” Susie Heath said in an e-mail Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Sean Dunphy ruled earlier this month there was “no evidence” Uber is operating as a taxi broker or that it breached Toronto bylaws.

Jay Strosberg, of Sutts, Strosberg LLP, said the class action suit is taking a different approach than other actions where the courts ruled Uber doesn’t contravene municipal bylaws.

“We are alleging that UberX and UberXL do not fall into the same category, and are in fact, blatantly in contravention of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, and detrimental to the ongoing business interests of every taxi and limousine operator in the province,” he said in a statement.

“The plaintiff alleges that the defendants conspired to arrange or offered to arrange for these passengers to be picked up by the UberX drivers thereby diverting millions of dollars of revenue away from licensed taxicab, limousine owners and drivers in Ontario and injuring their ongoing legitimate business interests.”

The lawsuit also alleges the defendants were unjustly enriched when they collected a portion of the UberX and UberXL fares which were in contravention of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, which deals with transporting passengers for compensation.

The allegations haven’t been proven in court.

— with files from Reuters