In re Uber Techs., Inc. Passenger Sexual Assault Litig.
In re Uber Techs., Inc. Passenger Sexual Assault Litig.
2025 WL 972384 (N.D.Cal. 2025)
April 1, 2025
Cisneros, Lisa J., United States Magistrate Judge
Summary
The parties have agreed to a stipulation regarding access to ESI produced by the defendants. Plaintiffs' counsel and anyone working on their behalf are not allowed to directly access any internal Uber company documents or non-public information, and must make reasonable efforts to avoid accessing such information through hyperlinks or URLs contained within the produced documents. Any access requests or actual access to this information must be reported to the opposing counsel within 24 hours.
Additional Decisions
IN RE: UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., PASSENGER SEXUAL ASSAULT LITIGATION
This Document Relates to: ALL ACTIONS
This Document Relates to: ALL ACTIONS
Case No.: 3:23-md-03084 CRB
United States District Court, N.D. California
Filed April 01, 2025
Counsel
By: /s/ Roopal Luhana, ROOPAL P. LUHANA (Pro Hac Vice), CHAFFIN LUHANA LLP, 600 Third Avenue, Fl. 12, New York, NY 10016, Telephone: (888) 480-1123, Email: luhana@chaffinluhana.com, Co-Lead Counsel for PlaintiffsSARAH R. LONDON (SBN 267083), GIRARD SHARP LLP, 601 California St., Suite 1400, San Francisco, CA 94108, Telephone: (415) 981-4800, slondon@girardsharp.com
RACHEL B. ABRAMS (SBN 209316), PEIFFER WOLF CARR KANE CONWAY & WISE, LLP, 555 Montgomery Street, Suite 820, San Francisco, CA 94111, Telephone: (415) 426-5641, Email: rabrams@peifferwolf.com
By: /s/_ Michael B. Shortnacy, MICHAEL B. SHORTNACY (SBN: 277035), mshortnacy@shb.com, SHOOK, HARDY & BACON, L.L.P., 2049 Century Park East, Suite 3000, Los Angeles, CA 90067, Telephone: (424) 285-8330, Facsimile: (424) 204-9093
PATRICK OOT (Pro Hac Vice admitted), oot@shb.com, SHOOK, HARDY & BACON, L.L.P., 1800 K Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006, Telephone: (202) 783-8400, Facsimile: (202) 783-4211
RANDALL S. LUSKEY (SBN: 240915), rluskey@paulweiss.com, PAUL, WEISS, RIFKIND, WHARTON & GARRISON LLP, 535 Mission Street, 24th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone: (628) 432-5100, Facsimile: (628) 232-3101
ROBERT ATKINS (Pro Hac Vice admitted), ratkins@paulweiss.com, CAITLIN E. GRUSAUSKAS (Pro Hac Viceadmitted), cgrusauskas@paulweiss.com, ANDREA M. KELLER (Pro Hac Vice admitted), akeller@paulweiss.com, PAUL, WEISS, RIFKIND, WHARTON & GARRISON LLP, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, Telephone: (212) 373-3000, Facsimile: (212) 757-3990
Cisneros, Lisa J., United States Magistrate Judge
ORDER ADOPTING STIPULATION REGARDING UBER INTERNAL COMPANY DOCUMENTS
As required by ECF 2647, Plaintiffs and Defendants Uber Technologies, Inc., Rasier, LLC, and Rasier-CA, LLC (collectively, “Defendants” or “Uber”) (jointly, “the Parties”) respectfully stipulate as follows:
Plaintiffs' counsel acknowledge and agree that they, including Plaintiffs' counsel's staff, experts, consultants, and any other persons or entities working on Plaintiffs' behalf or at Plaintiffs' direction, including Plaintiffs' counsel's clients (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), are not authorized to access any data, computer, computer system, or computer network maintained by or on behalf of Defendants, or any data, computer, computer system, or computer network of Defendants' agents or counsel.
The Parties agree that, while entitled to review the documents Defendants have produced, Plaintiffs are not authorized or entitled to directly access documents or information accessible via hyperlinks or URLs contained within Defendants' produced documents, unless those linked documents are publicly available (i.e., documents and information that Plaintiffs could have located independently through a public search, without using the link or URL from the document Defendants produced).
Plaintiffs acknowledge that they understand that if a hyperlink within an Uber-produced document is clicked or a URL from an Uber-produced document is copied into a web browser and access is restricted, any subsequent request for access to such document may generate an email communication to the owner of that Uber document that is (or in some cases was formerly) an Uber employee who is considered a represented party. Plaintiffs do not concede that they have engaged in any improper contact with represented parties, but acknowledge that they understand that rules of professional responsibility prohibit contact with represented parties.
On March 18, 2025, Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel instructed Plaintiffs' counsel not to request access to internal Uber company documents, and to report any instances where access was requested. Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel will further instruct Plaintiffs' counsel not to access or request access to internal Uber company documents or information or non-public documents or non-public information, and to report to Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel any instances of such access or requests for access. Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel will instruct Plaintiffs' counsel to provide that same instruction and reporting requirement to all non-lawyer staff, experts, and anyone else working with Plaintiffs or on Plaintiffs' behalf who has access to documents or information Defendants produced in this litigation. Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel will distribute or direct distribution of this Stipulation, in the form it is entered by the Court, to all recipients of the aforementioned instructions.
*2 If Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel are currently aware of any access requests or actual access to internal Uber company documents or information or to other non-public documents or non-public information accessible via hyperlinks or URLs contained within a document Defendants have produced in this litigation, other than the requests for access previously disclosed to Defendants, they shall notify Defendants' counsel within 24 hours of the filing of this stipulation and provide any known details regarding the request for access or actual access (e.g., date of access request or actual access, document(s) containing the hyperlink(s) at issue, the hyperlink(s) at issue, email address used to request access, etc.).
Likewise, if Defendants' counsel become aware of any Plaintiffs' counsel or staff-person who has requested access to internal Uber company documents, they shall notify Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel within two business days of receiving such notice.
If Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel become aware of anyone working with Plaintiffs or on Plaintiffs' behalf who actually obtained access to internal Uber company documents or information or to other non-public documents or non-public information accessible via hyperlinks or URLs contained within a document Defendants have produced in this litigation, they shall notify Uber's counsel as soon as possible, and in any event within 24 hours of receiving such notice and provide any known details regarding the access (e.g., date of access, document(s) containing the hyperlink(s) at issue, the hyperlink(s) at issue, email address used to request access, etc.).
Likewise, if Defendants' Counsel become aware of any Plaintiffs' counsel or staff-person who actually obtained access to internal Uber company documents, they shall notify Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel as soon as possible, and in any event within 24 hours of receiving such notice.
The Court adopts the parties' agreed framework for treatment of hyperlinks going forward. This Order should not be construed as resolving any question of professional rules regarding contact with represented parties. Cf. Cal. Rule of Prof. Conduct 4.2.