Uber has a sneaky way of avoiding lawsuits from customers

A couple who suffered serious injuries after being involved in an accident while driving an Uber (UBER) ride are denied the right to sue the company for an unexpected reason: their daughter’s pizza order.

While John McGinty and Georgia McGinty were backseat passengers in an Uber they took in 2022, their Uber driver chose to run a red light and the Uber car was rear-ended by another car.

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Georgia McGinty suffered multiple physical injuries, such as broken ribs and spine fractures, some of which required surgery, from the crash, according to a recent court filing. John McGinty suffered a fractured sternum and fractures to his left arm and wrist, leaving him with “diminished use and sensation in his left wrist.”

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In February 2023, the couple filed a lawsuit against Uber over the accident, and six months later, Uber filed a motion to compel arbitration and dismiss the couple’s complaint.

Uber argued that the couple lacked standing to sue after Georgia McGinty agreed to Uber’s Terms of Service, including its agreement to arbitrate, when she ordered food through the Uber Eats app.

An arbitration agreement removes a party’s right to sue if a dispute arises. Instead of going to court, the party who believes they have been wronged should go through arbitration, which is a private dispute resolution process.

The couple alleged that their daughter, who is a minor, agreed to Uber’s Terms of Service through the Uber Eats app without their knowledge when she borrowed her mother’s phone to order pizza from a local restaurant through the app.

The Uber logo is seen on a car in New York City, United States, on July 13, 2024.

NurPhoto/Getty Images

“Uber alleges that ‘Checkbox Consent’ was activated when the plaintiffs’ daughter was receiving updates on the driver’s progress because the app was refreshed. After they finished eating, Georgia certified that she got her cell phone back and tipped the driver. Georgia claimed that she and John never had an opportunity to see the pop-up and that their daughter clicked on it either intentionally or unintentionally while monitoring the delivery,” according to the court filing.

A new court ruling allows Uber to avoid a lawsuit

Uber’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and compel arbitration was first rejected by a lower court after it argued that Uber Eats’ arbitration clause did not make clear to users that they were waiving their right to litigate.

However, last month a New Jersey appeals court challenged that decision, ruling that Uber’s Arbitration Agreement was “valid and enforceable,” removing the couple’s ability to sue the company.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, the couple revealed that they were shocked by the court’s decision.

Related: Uber Eats driver refuses to deliver an in-person order because of his beliefs

“We are in disbelief that the court could interpret things the way they did — that our daughter’s access to order a pizza one random night could mean that if we were catastrophically injured in a car accident , we could not recover. very serious injuries and the financial damage that was done to us,” Georgia McGinty said in the interview.

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Arbitration agreements have recently come under consumer scrutiny

This isn’t the first time a consumer has fallen out with a major company because they were surprised by an arbitration agreement they didn’t know they agreed to.

In August, Disney faced backlash after Disney World argued that a man could not sue over the death of his wife, who died after having a severe allergic reaction to food that was supposed to be “allergen-free” at a Disney World restaurant. because of the terms you agreed to when you signed up for a free trial of Disney+.

Disney later agreed to waive arbitration and settle the matter in court due to the “unique circumstances” of the case.

“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations. Given the unique circumstances of this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who has suffered such a painful loss,” said Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Experiences, in a statement. statement to CBS News in August.

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