Uber Technologies Inc. has petitioned a California federal judge to move the majority of bellwether trials in the ongoing multidistrict litigation (MDL) accusing the company of failing to prevent sexual assaults by its drivers. The request is grounded in Uber’s forum selection clause, which mandates that personal injury claims be heard in the federal or state courts of the jurisdiction where the alleged incident occurred.
Forum Clause at Center of Legal Battle
On Friday, Uber filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer to transfer 13 of 20 bellwether cases to various federal districts nationwide, including courts in Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia. According to Uber, its terms of use stipulate that claims must be resolved “exclusively in the state or federal courts in the state in which the incident or accident occurred.”
“Federal law does not allow plaintiffs to renege on the parties’ forum-selection agreement,” the company asserted. “To the contrary, the ‘strong federal policy in favor of enforcing forum-selection clauses’ mandates transfer to the agreed-upon forums.” Uber emphasized that no “extraordinary circumstances” exist to justify keeping the cases in the Northern District of California, where the MDL is based.
