Uber Can’t Force Arbitration Over Pricing Antitrust Claim
- Judge won’t apply waiver linked to online registration form
- Uber drivers also challenge arbitration mandate in labor cases
The Uber Technologies Inc. logo is displayed in the window of a car while Uber drivers protest against price cuts outside the company's offices in Long Island City, in the Queens borough of New York, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. Last week Uber Technologies Inc., the ride-hailing leader, reduced its uberX rates in New York City by 15 percent.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergUber Technologies Inc. can’t require a Connecticut customer accusing the company of price-fixing to resolve the fight in arbitration, a federal judge ruled in one of several cases challenging the ride-hailing company’s efforts to steer disputes of all kinds away from public courtrooms.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said Friday that Uber’s online user agreement didn’t provide Spencer Meyer with sufficient notice of its arbitration policy for it to be binding. He 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.