Judge postpones hearing on Uber operations

A Clark County court hearing involving the ride-sharing company Uber was postponed Monday after the Nevada attorney general’s office withdrew its request for a preliminary injunction.

Uber began operating in Nevada on Oct. 24, prompting the attorney general’s office to seek temporary restraining orders against the company in Clark County, Washoe County and Carson City.

Judges in Washoe County and Carson City agreed to issue the orders, but Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon denied the request that came before him and scheduled a hearing on the state’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Kimberly Arguello said her office withdrew the Clark County motion on Friday after Washoe County District Judge Scott Freeman ruled that he had jurisdiction over the issue.

“We are attempting to abide by Judge Freeman’s ruling,” Arguello told Herndon on Monday.

But Herndon disagreed with Freeman’s conclusion.

“I think my case was filed first,” Herndon said.

Carson City Judge Todd Russell has issued a stay in his case. Meanwhile, Uber’s lawyers have asked the Nevada Supreme Court to sort out the questions about jurisdiction.

In court on Monday, Uber lawyer Colby Williams accused the attorney general’s office of engaging in “impermissible forum shopping,” and Herndon said he had concerns about the office’s conduct in the case.

Arguello agreed that her office has created a problem with the way it handled the litigation.

“We are attempting to get Uber to obey the law,” she said. “We may have done it inartfully.”

Herndon scheduled a status hearing in the Clark County case for Friday morning.

He said the various judges do not care who hears the case, but judges have an obligation to hear all matters that come before them.

“Only one of these cases should be proceeding,” Herndon said.

Although the judge refused to grant a restraining order last month, he said agents with the Nevada Taxicab Authority and the Nevada Transporation Authority could continue citing drivers they suspect are violating the law.

More than two dozen drivers have been cited for providing an unlicensed for-hire transportation service since Uber began operating in the state.

Also, Whittlesea Blue Cab Co. has filed a lawsuit against Uber in Clark County.

On Monday morning, several protesters held signs outside the Regional Justice Center in opposition to Uber’s operations in Nevada. The company is based in San Francisco.

“Since we launched in Nevada, one thing has remained clear and constant — Nevadans love Uber and are already relying on Uber to connect them to the people and places they love,” Uber said in a statement released Monday. “Uber will continue (to) defend the right of every Nevadan to enjoy safe, reliable transportation options.”

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Find her on Twitter: @CarriGeer.