The regional court of Frankfurt am Main in Germany issued a ruling Thursday banning the ride-hailing service Uber throughout the country.

The case had been brought by a taxi association alleging that Uber and its drivers violated regulations governing transport orders. To operate as it does, the court held, Uber would need to be licensed as a rental car company. It is not, and the court found that its operation through intermediary rental car companies included various anti-competitive violations.

Uber had suffered an earlier defeat in Germany’s highest court in 2015. As a result of that case, the company was prohibited from arranging rides directly with private drivers there. Another legal case brought Uber all the way to Europe’s highest court in 2017, which held that its business model rendered it a transportation company, not merely a tech platform subject to Europe’s more relaxed electronic communications laws. Thus, Uber has been subject to local and regional transport regulations throughout Europe, and in Germany, which has meant arranging rides through licensed rental car companies.

“From the passenger’s point of view, Uber itself provides the service and is therefore an entrepreneur within the meaning of [Germany’s] Passenger Transport Act,” said the judge in Thursday’s decision. The judge banned Uber’s continued operation because the company was communicating directly with drivers rather than sending transport requests through the licensed intermediaries, and because the cars were not being returned to the rental company premises as required. The case may be appealed.