Get into these lawsuit details, roommates! A court recently blocked a New Jersey couple from publicly suing Uber. The ruling comes more than two years after a car crash during a ride severely injured Georgia and John McGinty. It turns out their daughter’s alleged previous food orders on Uber Eats had an impact.
According to PEOPLE, the app’s terms-of-use agreement includes a clause about filing lawsuits against the rideshare company.
Details About The Uber Ride Accident
On March 31, 2022, an Uber driver ran a red light and T-boned another car while Georgia and John were in the car. As a result, the Uber car they were riding in sustained “extensive damages,” while the couple suffered severe injuries, per PEOPLE.
“Plaintiffs suffered serious physical, psychological, and financial damages,” court documents reportedly claim. “Georgia sustained cervical and lumbar spine fractures, rib fractures, a protruding hernia, traumatic injuries to her abdominal wall, pelvic floor, and other physical injuries. She has undergone numerous surgeries and other invasive procedures.”
Additionally, Georgia couldn’t return to work as a matrimonial attorney until more than a year later, on April 1, 2023. Her husband’s injuries were reportedly just as severe, as the 58-year-old fractured his sternum, left wrist, and left arm. “He underwent open reduction and internal fixation with a bone graft to address the arm fractures and has diminished use and sensation in his left wrist,” documents state.
Court Squashes New Jersey Couple’s Attempt To Sue
Uber’s terms of agreement prevent its users from publicly coming for their necks. Any disputes with Uber must be handled privately between the plaintiffs, the company, and its subsidiary, Raiser, LLC. So, despite the couple’s injuries, Uber called them out in court for suing after agreeing not to do so.
According to PEOPLE, the couple argued that prior to the accident, their preteen daughter might’ve accepted the service terms via the Uber Eats app. The Uber account was created in 2015, and someone agreed to their terms of service three times between that year and January 2021.
Meanwhile, the rideshare company isn’t buying it. Court documents state that Uber doubled down on the accepted terms.
“Prior to requesting an Uber platform, such as Uber Rides or Uber Eats, the user must agree to Uber’s Terms of Use. Throughout Georgia’s relationship with Uber, she has agreed to Uber’s Terms of Use, including its Arbitration Agreement. The Terms of Use were modified on January 18, 2021, and again on December 16, 2021.”
Moreover, the rep claimed that the couple could not prove whether their daughter completed food orders on the app solo or with help from Georgia, per CNN. Ultimately, the court ruled that the lawsuit must be privately settled instead of by a jury trial.
What’s Next?
Like Uber’s rep, John and Georgia also spoke with CNN following the court’s block, saying they were “surprised and heartbroken.”
“We are horrified at what the court’s decision suggests: A large corporation like Uber can avoid being sued in a court of law by injured consumers because of contractual language buried in a dozen-page-long user agreement concerning services unrelated to the one that caused the consumers’ injuries,” the McGintys shared.
John and Georgia told CNN they will “likely” petition the New Jersey Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. “Nobody reads those agreements, and Uber knows that,” their lawyer Evan Lide told The New York Times.
