Driver Concerns Spur Uber Safe Rides Fee Class Action Lawsuit

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A popular car sharing app may be advertised as more flexible than public transportation and taxis, but an Uber Safe Ride Fees class action lawsuit argues the company does not adequately check the backgrounds of the non-registered drivers and as such, the surcharges added to fares are unnecessary and falsely advertised. In fact, the Uber class action lawsuit alleges that the company’s background check policies are “woefully inadequate” when compared to those procedures put in place by other commercial transportation companies.

The two plaintiffs note that UberX and UberXL platforms automatically add a $1 fee as a result of the cost of “its ‘industry leading’ background check process and safety measures.” However, the class action lawsuit alleges that there is no fingerprint check or appearance before company officials for the background check. According to the Uber class action lawsuit, Uber applicants are only required to submit information such as their names, addresses, drivers license numbers and Social Security numbers through a webpage. Uber reportedly does not go through any further screening to confirm applicants’ identities.

In spite of that, the putative Class Members allege that the company has continued to advertise that it works “every day to connect riders with the safest rides on the road and go above and beyond local requirements in every city we operate. Uber only partners with drivers who pass an industry-leading screening that includes a criminal background check at the county, federal and multi-state level going back as far as the law allows.”

Beyond the City of San Francisco’s regulatory practices, the Uber Safe Rides Fee class action lawsuit also argues that even the company that performs Uber background checks also notes the importance of fingerprint checks. Further, they allege that drivers receive little-to-no training and cite news reports of drivers with criminal pasts who have able to obtain work through the company and even be involved in accidents after previous reckless driving charges.

As a result, the putative Class Members are seeking damages on several California and other state consumer protection statutes based on the common questions of whether or not Uber’s claims that its background checks were “industry leading” as well as whether or not they actually were. The plaintiffs note in the class action lawsuit that the questions are common, the potential number of additional members could number in the hundreds of thousands and that they are easily ascertainable through corporate records. Each of these is critical to judicial requirements for potential Class certification.

The plaintiffs are represented by Mike Arias and Alfredo Torrijos of Arias, Ozzello & Gignac LLP and Steven D. Little and Nicholas A. Coulson of Liddle & Dubin, P.C.

The Uber Safe Rides Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Matthew Philliben, et al. v. Uber Technologies Inc., et al., Case No. 14-cv-05615, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On June 1, 2017, seeking a federal judge’s approval, Uber upped the amount of money offered to resolve a class action lawsuit regarding its “safe ride” fee to $32.5 million.