Uber Drivers Plead Guilty to Lesser Charge
The 21 Uber drivers facing misdemeanor charges of operating a car for hire without being licensed by the Town of East Hampton agreed Monday to pay fines of $400 each in return for the town lowering the charges to simple violations.
Daniel G. Rodgers, the lawyer hired by Uber to represent the drivers, had promised the men during their first court appearance last month that he would not allow them to end up with a criminal record, threatening to take each case to trial if need be.
Mr. Rodgers delivered on that promise in East Hampton Town Court in front of Justice Lisa R. Rana. One by one, the drivers stood next to Mr. Rodgers as Michael Sendlenski, the prosecuting attorney for the town, lowered the charge against each from operating a taxi without a business license, a misdemeanor, to driving a taxi without a hack license, a violation.
Ironically, the men were pleading guilty to a violation that, while on the books for the past year, has never been enforced. The town has yet to issue its first hack license. Mr. Sendlenski explained afterward that it was a plea arrangement for the defendants that allowed them to plead guilty to a non-criminal offense within the same chapter of the town's code.
Before 14 of the 21 men could plead guilty to the violation, they had to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charge. They were: Davron Khuseynov, Dorji Dhondup, Adil Doghmi, James Adekplovi, Jimmy A. Collado, Sonam Lama, Azamat Emazarov, Dovran Esenov, Khalim Firdays, Kebe Chieka Saadboa, Emostafa Sabour, Khan Shahzad, Parduman Singh, and Edgar Daniels. Mr. Davron faced two charges, which he received on consecutive weekends. He was fined $800.
Two other Uber drivers were charged with illegal camping, for sleeping in their cars, a simple violation, to which they pleaded guilty.
The other seven men charged with operating without a business license had been previously arraigned and were allowed to plead guilty without appearing. Mr. Rodgers entered their pleas for them.
All were given two weeks to pay. Mr. Rodgers said outside the court afterward that it was his understanding that Uber would pay all the fines.
After the court session, Mr. Rodgers attacked the law under which his clients were charged. "It is bad law. It should be tossed," he said to reporters outside the courthouse.
While recognizing the need for communities to regulate and license businesses, the particular clause of the law that requires drivers to work for a business located within the confines of East Hampton Town, drew his ire.
Mr. Rodgers compared it to other professions, including his own, asking if lawyers or carpenters should be subjected to the same criteria. "It doesn't serve the consumer's interest," he said.
Mr. Sendlenski countered that if Mr. Rodgers had a valid legal argument against the law, "I'm sure he would have raised it. Instead, each and every one of his clients pleaded guilty."