Drivers suing Uber are demanding 57.5 cents for every mile logged, and U.S. District Judge Edward Chen is considering adding more drivers to the class action, despite an earlier ruling of his upholding Uber’s contract arbitration clause that excluded the number of drivers from the class action.
Jim Evans, partner in Alston & Bird’s Labor and Employment Group, who drafts arbitration agreements for companies and helps enforce them said it would require “a very significant logical stretch” for Uber to prevail.
If the drivers win, “then the flood gates bust open and you have a much bigger class,” said Evans. He also noted that while it’s hard to put a figure on Uber’s potential liability, “no one could seriously doubt that it is a lot.”
“Given that Uber is privately held — for now — it is anybody’s guess how much Uber collected from California customers over the past six years or how many miles Uber drivers have driven for those customers,” he added.
Jim Evans, partner in Alston & Bird’s Labor and Employment Group, who drafts arbitration agreements for companies and helps enforce them said it would require “a very significant logical stretch” for Uber to prevail.
If the drivers win, “then the flood gates bust open and you have a much bigger class,” said Evans. He also noted that while it’s hard to put a figure on Uber’s potential liability, “no one could seriously doubt that it is a lot.”
“Given that Uber is privately held — for now — it is anybody’s guess how much Uber collected from California customers over the past six years or how many miles Uber drivers have driven for those customers,” he added.