Ride-hailing app Uber has faced considerable controversies over the past two years, with protests from traditional cabbies, legal challenges over insurance and licensing, and concerns over security and driver vetting.

However, the latest legal hot water for the popular app concerns allegations of discrimination against blind people, due to drivers refusals to transport guide dogs in their Uber vehicles.

The case has been brought to the US District Court for the Northern District of California by a number of plaintiffs, including the National Federation of the Blind of California, and Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins ruled that as a travel service, Uber was subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act and would have to face the lawsuit in court.

Uber has issued a statement claiming that company policy is to comply with all laws regarding the transportation of service animals, but the plaintiffs allege they know of more than 40 incidents of Uber drivers refusing to carry guide dogs or doing so improperly, including an instance when a driver allegedly refused to pull over once a blind passenger realised her guide dog had been locked in the trunk of the car.

“Uber is a very popular service, and it is important for riders with service animals to be able to use it like anyone else,” said Aaron Zisser, a lawyer for Disability Rights Advocates, who helped bring the case before the court.