Uber Reaches $20M Text Message Spam Class Action Settlement

Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a class action lawsuit over allegations it sent unsolicited text messages in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), according to court documents filed Friday in Illinois federal court.

Plaintiff Maria Vergara, who initially sued Uber in Illinois federal court in August 2015, alleges she received unwanted text messages from Uber urging her to complete the process for signing up for the Uber app, even though she had never expressed interest in being an Uber rider or driver.

Plaintiffs Jonathan Grindell, Jennifer Reilly, James Lathrop, Sandeep Pal and Justin Bartolet claim they all received unwanted texts about becoming Uber drivers. Their Uber class action lawsuit was initially filed in December 2014 in California federal court.

According to the Uber TCPA class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs say they asked Uber to stop sending the unwanted text messages, but they continued to receive texts from Uber. The plaintiffs also allege that Uber failed to implement adequate procedures to confirm the accuracy of prospective users’ information.

As a result, Uber allegedly sent unsolicited text messages to phone numbers of individuals who had never expressed any interest in Uber’s services and never consented to receive text messages from the company.

Uber denies the allegations but has agreed to settle the TCPA class action lawsuits to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.

The Uber class action settlement proposes the creation of three Classes of individuals who received text messages that allegedly violated the TCPA.

• Class A would include anyone in the United States who received at least one non-emergency text message in connection with Uber’s Refer-a-Friend program.
• Class B would include anyone in the United States who started to apply as an Uber driver but did not become an “active” driver in Uber’s system and who received one or more non-emergency text messages from Uber after requesting Uber to stop sending the text messages.
• Class C would include anyone in the United States who did not provide a cell phone number to Uber but who received at least one non-emergency text message from Uber.

Under the terms of the proposed TCPA class action settlement, Uber will establish a $20 million settlement fund, which will be distributed on a pro rata basis to eligible Class Members who file timely and valid claims. The amount of compensation will be determined based on the total number of approved claims.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs are represented by Myles McGuire, Evan M. Meyers and Paul T. Geske of McGuire Law PC and Hassan A. Zavareei, Andrea R. Gold and Andrew J. Silver of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.

The Uber Text Message Spam Class Action Lawsuit is Maria Vergara, et al. v. Uber Technologies Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-06942, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: October 2017, the Uber text message spam class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 1, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail worth up to $127.24 from the Uber text message class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!

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If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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