ASPEN ” The city of Aspen formally dropped its case Wednesday against cabbie Phillip Sullivan, who stood accused of illegally operating a free transportation service that caters largely to the after-hours crowd.

Assistant City Attorney Jim True said the case was set for a jury trial Wednesday, but a disposition had been reached in the matter.

He was referring to Sullivan having obtained a business license that allows him to legally operate the cab service in the city. Proof of insurance was also required.

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Municipal Court Judge Brooke Peterson then dismissed the case, saying it seemed like an “admirable outcome.” Peterson made his remarks at a morning court hearing in City Hall that took less than five minutes.

Sullivan, 73, faced multiple counts in connection with the case, including failure to pay the city’s occupation tax and operating without a business license. The counts covered a period from “some portion of calendar years 2006 and 2007 and during 2008,” court documents showed. Sullivan’s troubles stemmed from a complaint filed by High Mountain Taxi Service of Aspen in 2006 with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

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An administrative law judge later ruled Sullivan owed $12,100 in fines for violating the commission’s regulations. Sullivan said he has not had contact, of late, with the utilities commission about the issue.

The complaint also led to a summons being issued by the city of Aspen in spring of last year, which led to Wednesday’s trial date.

whaupt@aspentimes.com