According to Bloomberg, Uber Technologies Inc. is currently fighting off a lawsuit brought against them by a woman who claims that she was hit by a car after she was forced to exit in the middle of a California freeway by her driver.
The complaint, which was brought forward by Margaret Schimmel, alleges that she and her brother were thrown out of the ride "without legal justification or good cause" as they were being transported home from downtown Santa Barbara. The driver reportedly pulled over to the median where he told the siblings to get out. She says that after that happened she suffered "catastrophic injuries" as she was hit by another driver as she tried to cross to the freeway's shoulder.
Both Schimmel and her brother have accused Uber of negligence and fraud as they contest that the company falsely claims to be a safe alternative to "driving at night after drinking."
In response Uber has asked a state judge in San Francisco to toss the case because, as they argue, it should've been filed in Santa Barbara, the city in which the event allegedly occurred.
As Bloomberg writes:
Uber says the case shouldn’t proceed in its hometown because of the inconvenience and expense of gathering evidence from witnesses. The company also argues it should be spared from punitive damages because it doesn’t have a “direct relationship” with the driver who was working as a contractor.
Got to love those contractor loopholes.
