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SAN DIEGO (AP) – San Diego is suing scooter companies for persuading them to pay the city’s costs to defend lawsuits caused by the two-wheeled vehicles that have spread on public sidewalks.
The Union-Tribune reported Tuesday that City Attorney Mara Elliott filed a lawsuit last week against Bird, Lyft and a handful of other firms that have signed company agreements with San Diego to rent the dockless scooters.
The motion comes after disability rights attorneys sued the city in federal court for alleging that the scooters too often get in the way of pedestrians, clog public paths and endanger people who use wheelchairs or are visually impaired.
That class action lawsuit initially named the scooter companies as defendants, but a judge dismissed them from the lawsuit last year, leaving the city as the sole defendant.
According to the city’s new lawsuit, the company’s operating agreements specifically require Bird, Lyft and other companies to defend San Diego from all scooter-related litigation.
A Lyft spokesman said the company has not commented on any pending litigation. Bird and other defendants did not immediately respond to requests from the Union Tribune to comment on the lawsuit.
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