SYDNEY, March 18 (Reuters) - Uber ( UBER ) has agreed to

pay A$271.8 million ($178.3 million) to settle a lawsuit in

Australia brought by taxi operators and drivers, who alleged

they lost income when the ride-hailing company moved into the

country, a law firm said on Monday.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers filed the class action in 2019 in

the Supreme Court of Victoria state on behalf more than 8,000

taxi and hire car owners and drivers, which the law firm said

"Uber ( UBER ) fought tooth and nail at every point along the way."

"Since 2018, Uber ( UBER ) has made significant contributions into

various state-level taxi compensation schemes, and with today's

proposed settlement, we put these legacy issues firmly in our

past," an Uber ( UBER ) spokesperson said in an emailed response.

Uber ( UBER ) did not disclose the proposed settlement in its

response.

"What our group members asked for was not another set of

excuses - but an outcome," Maurice Blackburn said.

($1 = 1.5246 Australian dollars)