INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace Turo has filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles Airport in a preemptive strike aimed at
defending the ability of its users to rent out their personal cars at Los Angeles International Airport.
Turo filed the lawsuit Thursday in
Central District Court of California in Los Angeles
The city is not able to comment on ongoing litigation, Alex Comisar, press secretary for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Turo contends in its
lawsuit that LAX has misclassified its peer-to-peer car-sharing platform as a rental car company
Turo argues that California car-sharing law is clear and notes that it doesn&t own or operate a fleet of vehicles or use the airport
facilities that traditional rental car companies do.
&Due to this misclassification, the airport expects Turo to obtain a rental car company
permit and expects our community to pay anti-competitive fees whenever they choose to exchange cars at or near LAX,& Turo Chief Legal
Officer Michelle Fang told TechCrunch
&We&ve seen firsthand how rental car giants Enterprise Rent-a-Car have prodded airports across the country, including LAX, to attack our
community, including our users& rights to choose transportation options other than rental cars and to share their own cars to supplement
their income.&
Fang said LAX hasrepeatedly refused to even come to the table despite efforts to negotiate.
Turo says in the lawsuit that it
has reached out to LAX officials in an effort to develop an appropriate fee structure
The company is open to paying a fee that is in line with how ride-hailing companies are charged.
&The fees need to be proportionate for the
way that the ground transportation is being used,& Fang said, adding that rental car companies need parking lots and shuttles and other
infrastructure at airports
&The use to LAX is much more comparable to TNCs and limos and taxis than it is to rental cars.&
The company decided to take action after it
viewed email messages between the car rental company Enterprise Holdings and city officials that discussed an impending lawsuit against Turo
Enterprise has yet to respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit against Los Angeles marks further escalation of a battle
between Turo and established car rental companies that aim to protect their domains.
Earlier this year, San Francisco sued Turo for
allegedly ignoring fee requirements and other rules atSan Francisco International Airport
The city lawsuit argued that Turo users have added to airport traffic congestion and that its operation at the airport without paying fees
gives it an unfair advantage against competitors.
Turo countersued San Francisco, saying the city was trying to classify it as a traditional
rental car company.
Turo closed a $104 million Series D round in April
The company has raised $205 million to date.
