Judge Rips Uber for Hiring Investigators to Dig Dirt on Yale Researcher

A U.S. District judge ripped ride-sharing service Uber after the company hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on a Yale researcher who is suing the company.

"It is a sad day when, in response to the filing of a commercial lawsuit, a corporate defendant feels compelled to hire unlicensed private investigators to conduct secret personal background investigations of both the plaintiff and his counsel," wrote Judge Jed Rakoff. "It is sadder yet when these investigators flagrantly lie to friends and acquaintances of the plaintiff and his counsel in an (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to obtain derogatory information about them."

Spencer Meyer, an associate research scientist at Yale, sued Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick in January, alleging Uber’s price algorithm violates antitrust laws.

“Kalanick designed Uber to be a price fixer,” wrote Andrew Schmidt, Meyer’s attorney. “..Drivers using the Uber app do not compete on price.”

Rakoff ordered that Uber couldn’t use information obtained through the private investigation in the lawsuit. Uber also agreed to reimburse Meyer and others for attorney and relate fees.

Uber didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rakoff found that Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan ordered an investigation to find out more about Meyer and told Uber Director of Investigations Mat Henley, “Whoever can do it well and under the radar is fine,” when asked whether to do a check in-house or outsource it.

Ergo, a private investigation firm, was hired to do the investigation. Ergo wasn’t licensed to conduct private investigations in New York. “Company Ergo” sounds weird.

An investigator reached out to 28 acquaintances and professional colleagues of Meyer and Schmidt.
Rakoff found that investigator Miguel Santos-Neves “made materially false statements about why he was contacting them,” including an instance where he pretended the matter was about a research project.

Santos-Neves told people interviewed regarding Schmidt that he was profiling up-and-coming labor lawyers in the U.S., according to Rakoff’s findings.

Santos-Neves also recorded phone calls with eight individuals without their knowledge or consent.
When it came time to a draft a report, Santos-Neves told Egeland on Jan. 15, 2016 that asking a question about the Uber lawsuit to sources “...could have all sorts of consequences for Meyer himself, as it would get the academic rumor mill going.”

The report delivered to Uber was almost entirely positive or neutral, except that he may be sensitive to publicity that tarnishes his professional reputation, Rakoff found.

Meyer’s co-counsel Brian Feldman was alerted that acquaintances of Meyer and Schmidt were being contacted by Santos-Neves. Kalanick’s outside counsel Peter Skinner told Feldman, “Whoever is behind these calls, it is not us.”

Skinner then followed up and confirmed Uber started an investigation.
The matter was brought to the court’s attention on May 19, and several Uber and Ergo employees were deposed.

“...the Court cannot help but be troubled by this whole dismal incident,” Rakoff wrote. “Potential plaintiffs and their counsel need to know that they can sue companies they perceive to be violating the law without having lies told to their friends and colleagues so that their litigation adversaries can identify ‘derogatories.”