"Those permanent price controls will harm not only Plaintiffs, but also the revitalization of the very local restaurants that the City claims to serve," the companies said in the lawsuit filed on Thursday.
The suit argues that the legislation is unconstitutional because"it interferes with freely negotiated contracts between platforms and restaurants by changing and dictating the economic terms on which a dynamic industry operates." The legislation comes after the city enacted temporary caps on the commissions food delivery companies charged restaurants during the pandemic, when so many of them were forced to close or rely on delivery and carry-out alone.
It seeks to limit the amount those companies can charge restaurants to 15% of food orders for delivery services and 5% for advertising and other non-delivery services. The New York City restaurant delivery market is split almost evenly among the major platforms, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, which collects payment data from customers.