Uber Judge Rejects Sending Whistleblower Case to Arbitration (1)

Uber Technologies Inc. will have to defend against a whistleblower lawsuit that claims the ride-hailing company violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act as it responded to demands for information in cases including claims of sexual harassment and homicide.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer on Tuesday denied motions by Uber and staffing agency Russell Tobin and Associates to compel arbitration, dismiss representative claims, and stay the action.

Ulmer during a court hearing questioned the company’s arguments that the Federal Arbitration Act governs the agreement to arbitrate disputes even though the document is silent on that, ultimately concluding they’d not ...