Uber class action lawsuit site a wealth of information
Ontario class-action certified in 2021
Uber drivers wishing to get updates on the Ontario-based class action lawsuit Heller vs. Uber can visit Samfiru-Tumarken LLP’s dedicated class action website for in-depth information on the case.
“This is an Ontario-based class action lawsuit alleging, among other things, that Uber has misclassified Ontario-based drivers and delivery people who provide transportation and delivery services through the Uber Apps as customers or independent contractors and therefore unlawfully deprived them of entitlements owed to them as employees under the Ontario Employment Standards Act. Uber denies these allegations, which must still be proven in court,” reads the Samfiru-Tumarken site.
Notice of certification has been translated and posted into French, Arabic, Mandarin, Hindi, Cantonese, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Korean, Tamil, and Spanish).
On August 12, 2021, an action known as Heller v Uber Technologies Inc, Court File No., CV-17-567946-00CP, was certified as a class proceeding by order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (“the Court”). The certification decision can be read here. According to the certification decision, the Class includes: “any person in Ontario who, between January 1, 2012 and August 12, 2021, used an Uber app to transport passengers and/or to provide delivery services pursuant to a Service Agreement with Uber B.V., Rasier Operations B.V., and/or Portier B.V. This includes the following services using the Uber App: Uber Eats, UberX, UberXL, Uber Comfort, Uber Black, Uber SELECT, Uber Black SUV, Uber Premier, Uber Premier SUV, Uber Taxi, Uber WAV, Uber Assist, Uber Pool, Uber Green, and Uber Connect.”
“The certification decision is what allows the case to proceed as a class action, which allows one or more representative plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group of people with similar claims. These similar claims will be determined, at least in part, at a common issues trial. The certification decision also appointed David Heller and Felicia Garcia as representative plaintiffs for the Class,” the site explains.
If you used the Uber App to transport passengers and/or provide delivery services in Ontario at any point between January 1, 2012 and August 12, 2021, you are included as a Class Member. The deadline to opt-out of the action was on May 28, 2024.
On August 9, 2021, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice certified a class-action lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc., enabling the suit to move forward. Justice Paul Perell’s decision stemed from a court filing made by Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and Uber Eats courier David Heller in 2017.
Perell’s decision reads in part, “The Plaintiffs submit that Uber has breached its employment contracts with the putative Class Members and contravened Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000. They also plead that Uber is liable for unjust enrichment and negligence. The putative class may be as large as 366,359 persons who have provided at least one ride or delivery using the Uber App.”
