A class action against Uber was expected to go to trial at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday but Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said it would be abandoned after the rideshare giant agreed to the mammoth settlement.

It was the fifth-largest class action settlement in Australia’s history and holds Uber to account, five “gruelling” years after lawyers launched the action on behalf of more than 8000 taxi and hire car owners and drivers, the law firm said.

The drivers and car owners lost income and licence values because of Uber’s aggressive arrival into the market and the company tried to deny them compensation at every turn, Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Michael Donelly said.

“On the courtroom steps and after years of refusing to do the right thing by those we say they harmed, Uber has blinked, and thousands of everyday Australians joined together to stare down a global giant,” Donelly said.

“We are extremely proud to have succeeded today in holding Uber to account, in securing … a $271.8 million sum that will finally put real money back into the accounts of people who have been devastated.”

The class action succeeded where other cases had failed, including some brought in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia against governments, Donelly said.

The law firm expected the trial to be officially abandoned in court on Monday morning.

– AAP