Micheletti v. Uber Technologies, Inc.

213 F. Supp. 3d 839, 26 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1772, 2016 WL 5793799, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137318
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedOctober 3, 2016
DocketCivil Case No. 15-1001 (RCL)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 213 F. Supp. 3d 839 (Micheletti v. Uber Technologies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Micheletti v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 213 F. Supp. 3d 839, 26 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1772, 2016 WL 5793799, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137318 (W.D. Tex. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Royce C. Lamberth, United States District Judge

I. Introduction

Before the Court is defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, filed December 7, 2015 [ECF No. 8], plaintiffs’ Opposition, filed January 4, 2016 [ECF No. 9], defendants’ Reply, filed January 19, 2016 [ECF No. 15], plaintiffs’ Sur-Reply, filed February 1, 2016 [ECF No. 17], and other supplemental authorities and responses thereto. Having considered the motion, response, reply, exhibits, supplemental authorities, and the applicable law, the Court grants the Motion to Dismiss in favor of arbitration.

II. Background

Plaintiff David Micheletti is a resident of Bexar County, where he worked as an Uber driver. Pl. Orig. Pet. [ECF No. 1-5] at 3. Uber is a technology company that, along with its Rasier subsidiaries, provides a platform to connect riders seeking transportation with available drivers. Micheletti activated an Uber account on June 20, 2014. Defs. Mot. at 2. In order to access the Uber platform, drivers must first enter into an agreement with the applicable Raiser entity. Id. After signing up, a potential driver must log in with a unique username and password to review the services agreements. Id. at 3. To advance past the screen with the hyperlink to the agreement, drivers must confirm that they reviewed and accepted the agreement by clicking “YES, I AGREE.” Id. Drivers were not obligated to accept right away; they could access and review the agreement at their leisure. Id. Here, Micheletti reviewed and accepted the “Ra-sier Software Sublicense & Online Services Agreement” twice: first when he initially activated his account (“the June 2014 Agreement”), and again on October 19, 2015 (“the November 2014 Agree[843]*843ment”). With the exception of a choice-of-law provision in the November 2014 Agreement, the agreements contain substantially similar terms.

The June 2014 Agreement contains an arbitration agreement in which drivers and Uber/Rasier agree to arbitrate all disputes arising out of their relationship with Uber:

IMPORTANT: This arbitration provision will require you to resolve any claim that you may have against the Company or Uber on an individual basis pursuant to the terms of the Agreement unless you choose to opt out of the arbitration provision. This provision will preclude you from bringing any class, collective, or representative action against the Company or Uber ...
[[Image here]]
WHETHER TO AGREE TO ARBITRATION IS AN IMPORTANT BUSINESS DECISION. IT IS YOUR DECISION TO MAKE, AND YOU SHOULD NOT RELY SOLELY UPON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS AGREEMENT AS IT IS NOT INTENDED TO CONTAIN A COMPLETE EXPLANATION OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF ARBITRATION. YOU SHOULD TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND TO CONSULT WITH OTHERS ...
[[Image here]]
This Arbitration Provision is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (the “FAA”) and evidences a transaction involving commerce. This Arbitration Provision applies to any dispute arising out of or related to this Agreement or termination of the Agreement and survives after the Agreement terminates. ...
Except as it otherwise provides, this Arbitration Provision is intended to apply to the resolution of disputes that otherwise would be resolved in a court of law or before a forum other than arbitration. This Arbitration Provision requires all such disputes to be resolved only by an arbitrator through final and binding arbitration on an individual basis only and not by way of court or jury trial, or by way of class, collective, or representative action.
Such disputes include without limitation disputes arising out of or relating to interpretation or application of this Arbitration Provision, including the enforceability, revocability or validity of the Arbitration Provision or any portion of the Arbitration Provision. All such matters shall be decided by an Arbitrator and not by a court or judge.
Except as it otherwise provides, this Arbitration Provision also applies, without limitation, to disputes arising out of or related to this Agreement and disputes arising out of or related to your relationship with the Company, including termination of the relationship.
[[Image here]]
Arbitration is not a mandatory condition of your contractual relationship with the Company. If you do not want to be subject to this Arbitration Provision, you may opt out of this Arbitration Provision by notifying the Company in writing of your desire to opt out of this Arbitration Provision .... Should you not opt out of this Arbitration Provision within the 30-day period, you and the Company shall be bound by the terms of this Arbitration Provision.
[[Image here]]
This Arbitration Provision is the full and complete agreement relating to the formal resolution of disputes arising out of this Agreement. Except as stated in sub[844]*844section v, above, in the event any portion of this Arbitration Provision is deemed unenforceable, the remainder of this Arbitration Provision will be enforceable.

Def. Mot. Ex. C pp. 11-15 [ECF No. 8-1].

Micheletti filed this original action against Uber Technologies, Inc., Raiser LLC, and various unknown defendants (collectively “defendants”) on behalf of himself and other Texas Uber drivers, alleging that Uber refuses to pay its drivers a living wage and misrepresents the status and compensation of drivers for their own benefit. PL Orig. Pet. at 2. Plaintiffs seek to recover damages for violations of the Texas Labor Code and common law causes of action such as tortious interference with prospective business relationship, breach of contract, promissory estoppel, unjust enrichment, conversion, unfair competition, and fraud. Id. at 3.

Defendants move to compel individual arbitration based on the arbitration agreements that Micheletti—and all plaintiffs— electronically accepted before accessing the Uber platform. Defs.’ Mot. at 2. Defendants argue that the agreements are enforceable pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), that the claims brought here fall under the scope of those agreements, and that they must be dismissed in favor of arbitration. Id. See 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. Plaintiffs concede that the arbitration agreement is governed by the FAA, but they argue that the agreements should not be enforced because the arbitration agreement—including the delegation provision—is against public policy and unconscionable under California law. PI. Opp’n. at 2. Defendants counter that Texas law applies, and that the parties agreed to delegate the determination of the enforceability of the arbitration agreement’s various terms to an arbitration, and not to a court. Defs. Reply at 10. Thus, according to defendants, this Court may only determine the enforceability of the delegation provision itself, according to Texas law. Id.

III. Legal Standards

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
213 F. Supp. 3d 839, 26 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1772, 2016 WL 5793799, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/micheletti-v-uber-technologies-inc-txwd-2016.