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US: Federal judge says Uber stays in court

By  |  July 31, 2016

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said that Uber Technologies Inc. can’t require a Connecticut customer, Spencer Meyer, who accused the company of price-fixing to resolve the fight in arbitration. Rakoff denied Uber’s request to throw out the antitrust lawsuit over the company’s practice of raising prices during periods of high demand and have the matter sent to an arbitrator.

The ruling comes as Uber has sought to enforce its arbitration agreements with drivers in several states.

Rakoff ruled Uber’s registration process didn’t provide sufficient notice to Meyer that he was waiving his right to have his claim heard by a jury in court. The registration form didn’t require users to click on the “Terms of Service & Privacy Policy” before registering. Users who clicked on the link were taken to “nine pages of highly legalistic language that no ordinary consumer could be expected to understand,” Rakoff said. The arbitration clause includes a waiver of the right to sue in court and was at the bottom of Page 7.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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