Top taxi firm Vinasun and ride hailing firm Grab have told the court that they’ll negotiate a compensation dispute. The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Friday approved the litigants’ wish to ‘sit together,’ and temporarily suspended the trial. The suspension of trial is for no longer than a month, and the reopening date will be announced later, the court said.
“The lawsuit has dragged on for over a year, but the claimant was not able to prove the damage, as well as the causal relationship with Grab’s influence. The defendant is also very worn out wasting time defending a wrong it did not commit,” said Luu Tien Dung, Grab’s lawyer.
“This is one of the reasons why both sides have decided to negotiate,” he added.
Vinasun filed the suit against Grab in June last year, accusing the Malaysia-based firm of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.
It said Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) of the VND76 billion ($3.25 million) in losses that it suffered in 2016 and the first half of 2017.
The trial began last February, but was adjourned a month later to allow for more evidence to be gathered. Grab protested the valuation of Vinasun’s losses.
Last October, prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) in one payment, dismissing Grab’s claim that it was a tech firm and not a taxi company.
Grab responded by sending a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, saying that identifying Grab as a taxi firm would be “a step backwards from Industry 4.0.”
Under the latest draft of a decree prepared by the Transport Ministry, transport firms offering services with under 9-seater cars should be registered as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technologies.
This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms would have to register their services again as taxi businesses and comply with corresponding legal responsibilities regarding their operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and tax duties.
