SYDNEY (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)