In May, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the City of Seattle a setback in its defense of its ordinance granting Uber and Lyft drivers the right to collective bargaining. In June, the city petitioned the appeals court for an en banc rehearing of the case in front of the entire court.
Last Friday the court denied that petition.
Continue reading 9th Circuit denies en banc rehearing in Uber/Chamber of Commerce suit
Last month the City of Seattle filed a motion asking the court to dismiss one of two lawsuits alleging that the City Council and Mayor violated the Open Public Meetings Act when it repealed the head tax. This morning, the judge in the case denied that motion, allowing both cases to continue forward.
Continue reading Judge rules head tax repeal lawsuit can go forward
Last month ERIC, an industry association, sued the City of Seattle over a portion of Initiative 124 that requires companies to either provide gold-level healthcare to hotel workers or compensate them accordingly. Yesterday, the City of Seattle and ERIC filed with the court an agreement that the city would not attempt to enforce that provision of I-124 until January in exchange for an extension of time to file its legal brief in defense of the ordinance.
Continue reading City agrees not to enforce part of I-124 while lawsuit progresses
Last Friday Roger Forbes, the owner of the Showbox music venue, filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court challenging the legality of the City Council’s recently-passed “Save the Showbox” ordinance that added the property to the Pike Place Market Historical District.
Continue reading “Save the Showbox” ordinance draws lawsuit from property owner
Last week, the ERISA Industry Committee (aka ERIC) filed a new legal challenge to a section of Initiative 124, which provides protections to hotel workers.
Continue reading Initiative 124 draws another legal challenge
In June, Rentberry filed for a preliminary injunction to block the City of Seattle’s prohibition on rent-bidding platforms. But last month, the company and the city agreed to set that motion aside and proceed directly to cross-motions for summary judgment. Rentberry’s new motion was filed last Friday.
Continue reading Rentberry case moves forward to a possible quick conclusion
This year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has heard two challenges to the City of Seattle’s ordinance authorizing collective bargaining for Uber and Lyft drivers. One was filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the other by a group of Uber and Lyft drivers. After back-to-back oral arguments in February, the appeals court ruled on the Chamber of Commerce case in May; it found that the ordinance was not exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act. Today it handed down its ruling in the second case, affirming the district court’s dismissal of the case — a win for the city.
Continue reading Appeals court affirms dismissal of Uber drivers’ lawsuit
Yesterday the City of Seattle filed a motion to dismiss one of two lawsuits filed against it that alleged the City Council and Mayor violated the Open Public Meetings Act when they repealed the head tax.
Continue reading City tries to dismiss lawsuit over head tax repeal
When Judge James Robart found the City of Seattle in initial compliance with the consent decree earlier this year, it started a two-year countdown for a “sustainment period” before the consent decree is lifted. During that period, the city agreed to provide quarterly reports detailing status of reform efforts, statistics on policing and use of force, and continuing efforts to reform the police department’s practices.
The first of those reports was filed with the court on Tuesday. The department also submitted some proposed changes to its “use of force” policy for Robart’s approval.
Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Trump Administration in its attempt to withhold federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities.” Though the case was brought by San Francisco and Santa Clara, it’s good news for Seattle too.
Continue reading Ninth Circuit slams Trump’s “sanctuary city” crackdown