Vugo, Inc. v. City of N.Y.

309 F. Supp. 3d 139
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 22, 2018
DocketNo. 15–CV–8253 (RA)
StatusPublished

This text of 309 F. Supp. 3d 139 (Vugo, Inc. v. City of N.Y.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vugo, Inc. v. City of N.Y., 309 F. Supp. 3d 139 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:

Citing an interest in promoting and protecting passenger comfort, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission ("TLC") promulgated rules that prohibit the display of advertising in certain types of for-hire vehicles without prior authorization. Although the TLC's regulatory scheme permits advertising in medallion taxis and street-hail liveries, it is effectively banned in all other vehicles. Vugo, Inc., a Minnesota-based company that places digital content, including advertising, in rideshare vehicles such as those affiliated with Uber and Lyft across the country, has sought to expand its business into New York City. After the TLC refused Vugo authorization to do so, it brought this First Amendment challenge.

Both Vugo and the City now move for summary judgment. Because the City is unable to justify the challenged regulations, even under the relaxed judicial scrutiny applied to restrictions on commercial speech first articulated in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission of New York, Vugo's motion is granted and the City's motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

The following facts, which are based on the parties' Rule 56.1 statements and supporting materials, are undisputed unless otherwise noted.1 The TLC, a City agency, is responsible for the "regulation and supervision" of vehicles for hire in the City. N.Y.C. Charter § 2303(a). In connection with its obligation to establish a comprehensive transportation policy, it is tasked *144with considering, among other things, "the promotion and protection of the public comfort." Id. § 2300. Its authority extends to "[t]he regulation and supervision of standards and conditions of service," id. § 2303(b)(2), and it is expressly empowered to establish "standards of ... comfort ... in the operation of vehicles and auxiliary equipment," id. § 2303(b)(6). As of August 2016, the TLC oversaw more than 94,000 vehicles, including medallion taxis and for-hire vehicles ("FHVs").2 Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 3-4, ECF No. 47. The following vehicles are considered FHVs: community-based liveries, black cars, luxury limousines, and street-hail liveries ("SHLs").3 Def. 56.1 ¶ 5.

The TLC currently allows two types of regulated vehicles to display interior advertising: medallion taxis and SHLs. Pl. 56.1 ¶¶ 10, 12, 14, ECF No. 39. Medallion taxis are New York City's ubiquitous "yellow cabs." Pl. 56.1 ¶ 4. SHLs, which are commonly known as "green" or "borough" taxis, are a relatively new class of FHVs that are authorized to accept street hails in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens (with the exception of the airports), Staten Island, and in certain parts of Manhattan. Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 5, 30. In addition to being the only two types of regulated vehicles allowed to display interior advertising, medallion taxis and SHLs are also the only regulated vehicles that accept street hails. Def. 56.1 ¶ 31.

Before May 2005, no TLC-regulated vehicles were authorized to display interior advertising. See Def. 56.1 ¶ 13; Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 22, ECF No. 50. The rules being challenged in this action, which prohibit interior advertising in FHVs, were originally adopted as a single rule (the "Original Rule") on August 5, 1999. See Pl. 56.1 ¶ 3. The Original Rule provided, in relevant part, that "[a]n owner may not display any advertising, either on the exterior or the interior of a for-hire vehicle, unless such advertising has been authorized by the Commission." Wanttaja Decl. Ex. B, at NYC0263. It was adopted "to establish consistency between TLC's regulation of advertising in medallion taxicabs and FHVs." Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 20. The rule governing interior advertising in medallion taxis at the time prohibited taxicab owners from "display[ing] inside a taxicab any advertising or other notice not specifically authorized by [the Taxicab Owners Rules] or the Commission's Marking Specifications for Taxicabs unless approved by the Commission." Wanttaja Decl. Ex. A, at NYC0452.

The Original Rule was codified at 35 R.C.N.Y. § 6-12(f)(2). Wanttaja Decl. Ex. B, at NYC0263. In 2010, the Original Rule was re-codified as 35 R.C.N.Y. § 59A-29(e)(1) as part of a reorganization of the TLC's rulebooks. Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 21 n.7. The TLC also adopted a parallel provision that applies to FHV owners, which is codified at 35 R.C.N.Y. § 59B-29(e)(1). Pl. 56.1 ¶ 6. The language in these provisions differs somewhat from the Original Rule, but the parties agree that the differences are not "substantive." Pl. 56.1 ¶ 4; Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 21 n.7. In its current form, 35 R.C.N.Y. § 59A-29(e)(1) provides that "[a]n Owner must not display any advertising *145on the exterior or the interior of a [FHV] unless the advertising has been authorized by the Commission and a License has been issued to the Owner following the provisions of the Administrative Code." Similarly, 35 R.C.N.Y. § 59B-29(e)(l) provides that "[a] Vehicle must not display advertising on the outside or the inside unless the Commission has authorized the advertising and has given the Vehicle Owner a permit specifying that the advertising complies with the Administrative Code."

The TLC disfavors interior advertising in all of the vehicles that it licenses and regulates. Wanttaja Decl. ¶¶ 25, 28, 52. "Because the Commission had authorized no form of interior advertising in taxicabs or FHVs prior to 1999, passage of the rule did not alter the fundamental fact that advertising was not authorized in either taxicabs or FHVs at that time. Rather, the rule was intended to make clear that interior advertising was not permitted and inform licensees that they could not display interior advertising without prior TLC authorization." Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 22.

The TLC allows advertising in medallion taxicabs and SHLs for one reason: to offset the costs associated with the technology systems that must be installed in those vehicles. See Def. 56.1 ¶ 28; Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 47. In 2004, the TLC

promulgated rules requiring [medallion] taxicabs ... to install equipment capable of performing the following functions: (1) electronic receipt and collection of trip data; (2) acceptance of debit cards and credit cards for payment; (3) driver receipt of text messages; and (4) display of route guidance and other important information to passengers via passenger information monitors ["PIMs"].

Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 30. The new equipment was intended to serve a variety of policy objectives. The goal of the electronic receipt and collection of trip data was to establish "an efficient and accurate method of maintaining information regarding the date, time, and location of passenger pick-ups and drop-offs, duration of the trip, the number of passengers, and the metered fare paid by the passenger(s), among other data." Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 31. This electronic collection of data was intended to allow the TLC to "more efficiently synthesize and analyze this enormous volume of data so as to guide the agency in its day-to-day operations and larger policy decisions." Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 31. The acceptance of debit and credit cards was intended to provide a convenience for passengers and improve the safety of drivers, as they would presumably carry less cash. Wanttaja Decl. ¶ 32.

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Bluebook (online)
309 F. Supp. 3d 139, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vugo-inc-v-city-of-ny-ilsd-2018.