After failing in its challenge to a multidistrict litigation order coordinating thousands of sexual assault cases, Uber Technologies Inc. is steering toward the first bellwether trial later this year.
In a novel interlocutory petition before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Uber argued that the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation could not coordinate sexual assault lawsuits filed by passengers of its rideshare vehicles because they agreed to a waiver of collective actions in its terms of use. The Ninth Circuit disagreed and, earlier this month, denied Uber’s motion to reconsider their unanimous order.