O'Connor et al v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al

Filing 111

ORDER Re 109 Defendant's Corrective Notices. Signed by Judge Edward M. Chen on 6/18/2014. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit). (emcsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/18/2014)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE READ
The purpose of this Notice is to inform you that revised versions of Uber’s “Software License and Online
Services Agreement” and “Driver Addendum Related to Uber Services” will be issued to you for your
review in a few days. (When referred to together, these documents are referred to as the “Licensing
Agreement.”)
Transportation Companies:
If you are a Transportation Company that has contracted directly with Uber for the purpose of accessing
and using Uber software to increase your transportation business, you will be required to accept the
revised version of the “Software License and Online Services Agreement” to continue using Uber
Services and Software.
Drivers:
If you are a driver with a contractual agreement with a Transportation Company, you will be required to
accept a revised version of the “Driver Addendum Related to Uber Services” as a condition of receiving
trip requests using the Uber software. You should be aware that, by entering into the “Driver
Addendum Related to Uber Services,” you will also be agreeing to be bound by the Software License and
Online Services Agreement between Uber and the Transportation Company with which you are under
contract, as that agreement is incorporated by reference into the addendum.
Important Information You Should Consider Before Accepting The New Licensing Agreement
Your current version of the Licensing Agreement may have contained an arbitration provision, under
which both you and Uber agreed to resolve disputes that may arise through final and binding arbitration
on an individual basis, and not by way of litigation in state or federal court, and not on any class,
collective, or representative basis.
Because some persons have claimed that they may not have fully understood the consequences of
agreeing to the arbitration provision and that the procedure for opting out of the arbitration provision
was too burdensome, Uber will soon issue a new Licensing Agreement to provide further opportunity
for you to consider whether you wish to resolve disputes with Uber through arbitration or not.
Uber is providing this Notice to provide you with further information about the consequences of
agreeing to arbitration.
As you make your decision, here are some important things for you to consider:
•

Arbitration does not limit or affect the legal claims you may bring against
Uber. Agreeing to arbitration will only affect where those claims may be brought and
how they will be resolved.

•

Arbitration is a process of private dispute resolution that does not involve the civil
courts, a civil judge, or a jury. Instead, the parties’ dispute is decided by a private
arbitrator selected by the parties using the process agreed upon in the arbitration

agreement itself. The other rules and procedures for arbitration are also determined by
the parties’ arbitration agreement.
•

Unless the law requires otherwise, as determined by the Arbitrator based upon the
circumstances presented, you will be required to split the cost of any arbitration with
Uber.

•

The arbitration agreement that will soon be presented to you will require you to resolve
any claim that you may have against Uber on an individual basis unless you choose to
opt out of the arbitration agreement. As set forth in that agreement, you will be able to
opt-out by notifying Uber in writing by U.S. Mail, by any nationally recognized delivery
service (e.g., UPS, Federal Express, etc.), or by electronic mail sent to [e-mail].
You will be precluded from bringing any class, collective, or representative action
against Uber, unless you opt out, and you will also be precluded from participating in
any recovery resulting from any class, collective, or representative action brought by
someone else.
o

o

The mere existence of such class, collective, and/or representative
lawsuits, however, does not mean that such lawsuits will ultimately
succeed. But if you do agree to arbitration with Uber, you are
agreeing in advance that you will not participate in and therefore,
will not seek to recover monetary or other relief under any such
class, collective, and/or representative lawsuit.

o

•

IMPORTANT: THERE ARE NOW, AND MAY BE IN THE FUTURE, LAWSUITS
AGAINST UBER ALLEGING CLASS, COLLECTIVE, AND/OR REPRESENTATIVE
CLAIMS ON YOUR BEHALF INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS FOR TIPS,
REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES, AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS. SUCH CLAIMS,
IF SUCCESSFUL, COULD RESULT IN SOME MONETARY RECOVERY TO
YOU. (THESE CASES NOW INCLUDE, FOR EXAMPLE, LAVITMAN V. UBER
TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ET AL., CASE NO. 1:13-cv-10172-DJC (DISTRICT OF
MASSACHUSETTS) AND O’CONNOR V. UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ET AL.,
CASE NO. CV 13-03826-EMC (NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA). The
contact information for the plaintiffs' counsel in the O’Connor matter is as
follows: Shannon Liss-Riordan, Lichten & Liss-Riordan, P.C., 100 Cambridge
Street, 20th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, Telephone: [phone], Fax: (617)
994-5801, email: [e-mail]).

However, as discussed above, if you agree to arbitration, you will
not be precluded from bringing your claims against Uber in an
individual arbitration proceeding. If successful on such claims, you
could be awarded money or other relief by an arbitrator (subject to
splitting the cost of arbitration as mentioned above).

WHETHER TO AGREE TO ARBITRATION IS AN IMPORTANT BUSINESS DECISION. IT IS
YOUR DECISION TO MAKE, AND YOU SHOULD TAKE CARE TO CONDUCT FURTHER
RESEARCH AND TO CONSULT WITH OTHERS — INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO AN
ATTORNEY — REGARDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR DECISION, JUST AS YOU
WOULD WHEN MAKING ANY OTHER IMPORTANT BUSINESS OR LIFE DECISION.