Uber also trying the Terms of Service defense

Earlier this year, Disney made headlines when the corporation attempted to block a wrongful death lawsuit by citing the arbitration clause attached to a free Disney+ trial. The corporation claimed, essentially, that the plaintiffs had once agreed to the arbitration clause presented by Disney's media streaming service and, therefore, that the clause applied to all Disney services.

A lawyer at Uber must have seen these headlines and immediately said, "Hold my beer."

A couple in New Jersey was riding with an Uber driver when they were seriously injured in a car crash. The couple attempted to sue Uber for damages—but Uber pushed back, saying that, actually, their daughter had agreed to the company's terms of service (which included an arbitration clause) when ordering through Uber Eats.

A lower court initially rejected this argument, in part because the daughter was a minor at the time that she allegedly accepted the TOS. But Uber pushed back. From the article:

Last month, a New Jersey court of appeals sided with Uber against the McGintys, allowing the ride-hailing and delivery company to enforce an arbitration agreement requiring the couple to arbitrate their personal injury claims, rather than litigating them in court.

The court's opinion, issued on 20 September, stated that the arbitration provision contained in Uber's terms and conditions was "valid and enforceable", despite the couple's claims that it was their daughter who clicked agree to the updated terms of use months before their accident. Uber says Georgia McGinty had also previously agreed to the terms.

[…]

The couple added that they were "horrified" that a large corporation like Uber could "avoid being sued in a court of law by injured consumers because of contractual language buried in a dozen-page-long user agreement concerning services unrelated to the one that caused the consumers' injuries."

Guardian

Disney only backed off of their lawsuit about public backlash; in other words, the potential PR damage was probably valued higher than the cost of the lawsuit. I doubt Uber can be shamed in the same way.

This is something to keep in mind as more and more services require you to download apps and setup accounts and then get bought up by one of a handful of larger tech conglomerates hoping to consolidate power.

Previously:
Hundreds of odd and unordered Uber Eats deliveries showing up in Los Angeles and New Westminster, Canada neighborhoods