Beat sues taxi union chief, demands public apology

A successful Greek company has filed a lawsuit against the head of the taxi drivers’ union (SATA), accusing him of spreading “slanderous, false and abusive claims” to harm the firm’s reputation.

In the suit, popular taxi-hailing app Beat (formerly Taxibeat) demands that Thymios Lyberopoulos revoke his abusive remarks within the next 10 days and issue a public apology on the union website.

“We got to the point where our tolerance may have been mistaken for weakness. So we decided to take action. Beat has always been an example, not only of innovation and outward-looking thinking, but also of legality,” Beat CEO Nikos Drandakis said on Monday.

The leftist-led government has drafted legislation to regulate ride-hailing services such as Beat and Uber, making it harder for them to compete with traditional taxi services.

Lyberopoulos, who was recently re-elected union chief, appears to have lobbied the government into amending the law.