Opinion & Order The plaintiff, a New York City for-hire-vehicle driver, had his taxicab license summarily suspended after the press reported that he had ejected a same-sex couple from his car. He fought the suspension, and received his license back about a month later, after an administrative law judge credited his version of the facts over his passengers’. Meanwhile, he brought suit against the city, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Chair Meera Joshi, TLC Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs Allan Fromberg, TLC Prosecution Unit Assistant Commissioner Mohammed Akinlolu, and TLC Supervising Attorney Mark Wheeler on a number of claims relating to the summary suspension of his license. The plaintiff now seeks a ruling from this court that the suspension of his license violated his due-process rights as well as TLC regulations. At the same time, the defendants seek to dismiss the complaint in its entirety. For the reasons discussed below, I find that there is an insufficient record to grant summary judgment on any of the claims, and I dismiss certain of the plaintiff’s causes of action for failure to state a claim.BACKGROUNDOn June 9, 2018, two women hired the plaintiff, then operating as a driver for the Uber ridesharing service, to drive them from a bar in Brooklyn to another bar in Manhattan. Defs.’ 56.1 Resp.12, ECF No. 42. The women had been drinking, and at some point during the ride kissed. See id.
13, 37. What else happened in the car is a matter of considerable dispute; according to the plaintiff, “the women were drunk, kissing repeatedly and aggressively and refused to stop when he asked them to do so.” Am. Compl.18, ECF No. 12.1 Whatever the case, after crossing into Manhattan, the plaintiff prematurely parked the car and asked his passengers to get out. Defs.’ 56.1 Resp.14.The passengers did not welcome this suggestion, and all three individuals were soon arguing on the sidewalk, in an exchange that one of the passengers, Alex Iovine, partially captured with her cell-phone camera. See id.15; Alex Iovine, Lesbian Couple Says Uber Driver Kicked Them Out over a Kiss, N.Y. Post (June 11, 2018), http://players.brightcove.net /4137224153001/ed38fae1-4db1-4308-8095-399a04010bc1_default/index.html?videoId= 5796338363001.2 The video begins with the plaintiff being asked, “is there an issue?,” to which he responds that he told the passengers “[the] first time, don’t do it” but they “did it again.” Iovine, supra; see also Hr’g Tr. 77, ECF No. 37-3. The plaintiff and the passengers then argue about whether kissing is allowed in Uber vehicles. See Hr’g Tr. 77-79; Iovine, supra. Eventually, the plaintiff seems to realize that he is being recorded, and he says “don’t” while reaching out his arm — evidently toward the other passenger, Emma Pichl, who is outside the frame. See Iovine, supra; see also Hr’g Tr. 79.3 Then, while the plaintiff’s hand and Pichl are out of view, Iovine says, “get off of her phone; don’t fucking touch her,” and Pichl says, “don’t fucking touch my phone.” Iovine, supra; see also Hr’g Tr. 79. Next, Iovine promises the plaintiff that she’s “gonna get [him] fired.” Iovine, supra; see also Hr’g Tr. 79. The passengers disagree with each other over whether to report the plaintiff to Uber or to call the police, to which the plaintiff ultimately says, “report me, report me, I don’t give a shit.” Iovine, supra; see also Hr’g Tr. 80. All three individuals are clearly agitated throughout the incident, and they all occasionally raise their voice, but I would not characterize any of the three as yelling. See Iovine, supra.Iovine uploaded the video to the Web on June 10, 2018, and by the next day both the New York Daily News and the New York Post had published stories on the incident online, with copies of the video embedded in their websites. Defs.’ 56.1 Resp.15. Their coverage highlighted that the passengers were a “lesbian couple” and reported that they were kicked out of the car “for kissing.” Press Reports 1, 6, 8, ECF No. 37-6.In reporting the story, the tabloids reached out to the TLC for comment. See Defs.’ 56.1 Resp.
