Good thing the meter wasn’t still running.

A taxi dispatch company has been found guilty of discriminating against former passenger Mark Seaman, 34, in December 2009, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The victory comes eight years after Seaman gave his partner a brief kiss on the top of the head as their cab left from Philadelphia International Airport.

“You cannot do that in here,” the driver allegedly told the men before pulling over, throwing them out of the cab at a nearby taxi stand, and driving away. “I just remember thinking, ‘Gee, what a nice welcome home to Philadelphia,’” Seaman says.

Seaman filed a discrimination complaint within a week of the incident.

Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations has finally ruled that PHL Taxi violated the city’s non-discrimination law and has ordered the company to pay Seaman $500.

The ruling sets a standard that the city's taxi dispatch companies are responsible for any discriminatory conduct by their drivers. The companies will also be required to educate drivers about the city’s policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and sexual orientation.

What took so long for justice to prevail? That remains unclear, but similar cases are typically resolved between six months and two years.

“I am disappointed and perplexed about why it took eight years,” says Seaman, who has relocated to Washington, D.C. “And I’ve never been offered an explanation.”

The homophobic driver is still a certified cabbie in Philadelphia.