Law360: Uber Drivers Urge Judge Not To Dismiss Case

July 5, 2017

Source: Law360

Dulberg said he and Uber are currently bound by the company’s Dec. 11, 2015, technology services agreement, and he insists the language of that agreement backs up his allegations that Uber took a bigger cut of passenger fares than it said it would in the agreement, according to Dulberg’s brief. “Even if the [technology services agreement] allowed Uber to charge passengers an upfront fare and that upfront fare could be different from and higher than the fare determined by the fare calculation (i.e., the only fare in the TSA, the fare that Dulberg charges and the fare on which Uber’s service fee is based), Uber has still breached the TSA because Uber may deduct only its service fee — 20 percent ‘of the fare determined by the fare calculation’ — before remitting the remainder of the upfront fare to Dulberg,” the opposition brief said. Under the upfront pricing model, the ride-hailing giant charges passengers a fare before their ride even begins, but Uber bases that fare on an aggressive and often inflated projection of the distance and time involved in a particular ride, Dulberg alleged. The driver is entitled to a set percentage of the fare as laid out in the driver agreements, but Uber pays based on a calculation of the distance and time actually driven, which can often be less than what the customer actually paid, allowing Uber to pocket the difference, according to Dulberg’s complaint. Uber moved for dismissal in June, telling U.S. District Judge William Alsup that Dulberg has misread the agreement and doesn’t even have a valid case.
Download

More Publications

Law360

Our Locations

Please Contact Us for an In-Person Appointment