Black & White Cars, Inc. v. Groome Transportation, Inc.

In this appeal we consider whether a common carrier, certificated by the State Corporation Commission (SCC), violated a local ordinance regulating the advertisement of taxicab services and, if so, whether competing taxicab companies are entitled to an injunction prohibiting future violations of the ordinance.

The City of Norfolk enacted an ordinance that regulates taxicab operations within its boundaries, as authorized by Code §§ 56-291.3:1 through .3:7. Advertising taxicab services is addressed in Section 34-11 of the Norfolk City Code (1958):

No person shall use the term “taxi,” “taxicabs,”…