Photo by Sarah Anne Hughes.

The newly formed Teamster-affiliated D.C. Taxi Operators Association filed a lawsuit today against the city and Taxicab Commission, calling for a cessation of ticketing and towing cars over new modernization requirements.

Through a complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed today in D.C. Superior Court, the Association seeks to delay the implementation of modernization regulations, including credit card machines, claiming that some drivers have been placed on an “indefinite waiting list” to install dome lights.

“The drivers are facing delays in getting the dome lights and the costs are soaring, but the city’s answer has been to tow and impound taxis, which is shattering families throughout the region by taking away their vehicles without due process,” Ferline Buie, president of Teamsters Local 922, said in a release. “We have demanded a meeting with Mayor Gray and demanded a moratorium on towing and fines, but the mayor has not acted. As a result, because of this economic emergency, we are seeking relief in the courts.”

The suit names ten drivers, plus the Association, as plaintiffs, and claims that “problems with modern taximeter system [meaning credit card machine] malfunctioning and dome light availability have made full compliance within the Commission’s regulatory deadlines effectively impossible.” One driver said in the suit that his vehicle was impounded after he was unable to get an appointment to have a dome light installed by the November 1 deadline. Another driver claims that he made ten trips in October to get a dome light, but was told there were none in stock.

Members of the Association gathered outside the Wilson Building earlier this week to deliver a letter of demands to Mayor Vince Gray. A representative from the mayor’s office accepted the letter, and Gray’s spokesperson said he would listen to the complaints.

The D.C. Taxicab Commission had no comment on the suit. Read the entire thing here.