Uber Drivers--12,500 of Them--Demand Individual Arbitrations, Each Paid for by Uber

Uber's arbitration agreements with its drivers precludes class actions and thus requires individual arbitration. "Amazingly," Allison Frankel writes, "thousands of Uber drivers did just that. Between August and November of this year, about 12,500 drivers, many of whom had been class members in cases in which Uber successfully moved to compel arbitration, served individual arbitration demands on Uber ... These thousands of drivers filed their arbitration demands at JAMS, as mandated in Uber’s contracts."

The drivers argue Uber is required to pay for their arbitration because the terms of service say "In all cases where required by law, the Company will pay the Arbitrator's and arbitration fees."

The drivers allege “As of November 13, 2018, 12,501 demands have been filed with JAMS,” the arbitration organization. : “Of those 12,501 demands, in only 296 has Uber paid the initiating filing fees necessary for an arbitration to commence [...] only 47 have appointed arbitrators, and [...] in only six instances has Uber paid the retainer fee of the arbitrator to allow the arbitration to move forward.”