A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered a lawyer representing passengers in sexual assault litigation against Uber Technologies to pay sanctions for breaching a court protective order, marking a procedural victory for the rideshare company in ongoing consolidated proceedings.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Cisneros ruled that Bret Stanley of the Johnson Law Group must pay Uber $30,000 within 30 days after finding he improperly disclosed confidential corporate information obtained during evidence gathering. The materials were produced under a protective order in litigation in which passengers accuse Uber of failing to conduct adequate background checks on drivers and to implement appropriate safety measures. Uber has denied wrongdoing and argues in part that its drivers operate as independent contractors rather than employees.
Cisneros found that Stanley violated the order by disclosing the confidential names of certain internal Uber policies in unrelated lawsuits and to other plaintiffs’ attorneys. Uber argued that the disclosures were used as a roadmap for seeking evidence in other cases. In a statement, Stanley said he intended to streamline discovery in separate actions and accused Uber of delaying document production across the country. An Uber spokesperson said Stanley had treated confidential discovery documents as a resource for unrelated litigation.
The judge described it as impermissible and unreasonable for Stanley to determine unilaterally that confidential documents could be shared outside the case. However, she rejected Uber’s request for more than $168,000 in attorney fees, calling the amount excessive and finding the company had not demonstrated harm arising from the temporary public exposure of policy names on a New Jersey state court docket.
Cisneros also ordered Stanley to pay an additional, yet-to-be-determined amount in connection with a second sanctions request, after finding he searched case documents for use in separate litigation. Earlier this month, a federal jury in the consolidated proceedings awarded $8.5 million to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver when she was 19.
