Boston Retirement System v. Uber Technologies, Inc.

Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP serves as lead counsel in a securities class action against Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber) relating to Uber’s May 10, 2019 initial public offering (the IPO).  Uber is a multinational technology company that offers the ability to request or provided, among other things, car transportation and food delivery. Approval of the $200,000,000 Settlement is pending before the Honorable Richard Seeborg in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

On March 3, 2020, lead plaintiff, Boston Retirement System, filed a first amended complaint asserting claims against Uber, Uber’s officers and directors (the Individual Defendants) and the Underwriter Defendants (collectively, Defendants) under Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act, alleging that the IPO registration statement and prospectus (Offering Documents) filed in connection with the IPO contained three categories of allegedly false and misleading statements or omissions: (1) the Offering Documents failed to disclose an alleged illegal business model, (2) the Offering Documents failed to disclose information about passenger safety, and (3) the Offering Documents failed to disclose that Uber had increasing losses, expenses, and slow growth.

On August 7, 2020, Judge Seeborg denied in full Defendants’ motion to dismiss, sustaining the claims against Uber, its directors and officers, and the underwriters for the IPO.  A second amended complaint was filed on May 14, 2021 that added three additional plaintiffs, and otherwise alleged the factual allegations as set forth in the first amended complaint.  Following briefing, Defendants’ motion to dismiss the second amended complaint, the Court denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss.

On October 29, 2021, lead plaintiff filed a revised motion to certify the class and appoint itself, along with the three other plaintiffs (David Messinger, Salvatore Toronto on Behalf of the Ellie Marie Toronto ESA and Irving S. and Judith Braun) as class representatives.  After briefing and oral argument, on July 26, 2022, the Court entered an order granting the revised motion for class certification, appointing BRS, Messinger, Toronto, and the Brauns as class representatives, and appointing Labaton as class counsel.  Defendants petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for permission to appeal the Court’s class certification order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f).  After briefing, and without oral argument, on February 24, 2023, the Ninth Circuit denied the petition.

Beginning in July 2023, a Class Postcard was mailed to potential Class Members and a long-form notice was made available at www.UberIPOSecuritiesLitigation.com.  A summary notice was published in The Wall Street Journal and distributed on the internet using PR Newswire.  In addition to summarizing the Action, the notices collectively provided potential class members with the opportunity to request exclusion from the Class (i.e., to opt-out), explained that right, and set forth procedures for doing so, including the September 5, 2023, deadline.  Only 19 requests for exclusion from the Class were received.

The Parties engaged in extensive formal discovery that included the review of nearly 107,668 documents (893,997 pages) from the Uber Defendants in over 70 productions; 31,379 documents from the third parties; and 86,280 documents from the Underwriter Defendants.  The Parties took or defended a total of 46 depositions. In connection with expert discovery, the Parties submitted a total of 11 expert reports, including rebuttal reports.

On March 28, 2024, the Parties participated in a full-day mediation session before the Mediator.  On April 22, 2024, the Mediator issued a mediator’s recommendation to settle the Action for $200,000,000, which the Parties accepted on April 23, 2024.  A Stipulation of Settlement was filed with the Court on July 19, 2024 and, on August 9, 2024, the Court preliminarily approved the Settlement, authorized the provision of notice of the Settlement to Class Members, and scheduled the Settlement Hearing to consider whether to grant final approval of the Settlement and related relief.

The case is Boston Retirement System v. Uber Technologies, Inc., No. 19-cv-6361 (N.D. Cal.).  Labaton Keller Sucharow represents lead plaintiff Boston Retirement System and the Class.

Submit Claim Form

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Uber’s publicly traded common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Offering Documents for Uber’s IPO, and were damaged thereby, i.e., you purchased shares during the Traceability Period of May 10, 2019 through November 5, 2019, you may be entitled to a payment from the Settlement.  To be eligible for a payment, you must submit a Claim Form to the Claims Administrator by November 20, 2024.

Settlement Hearing

A Settlement Hearing will be held on December 4, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. (Pacific), before the Honorable Richard Seeborg, United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, either in person at the Phillip Burton Federal Building & United States Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 95113, in Courtroom 3 – 17th Floor or by video conference (at the discretion of the Court).

If you have questions about the Settlement, please contact Labaton Keller Sucharow at settlementquestions@labaton.com; (888) 219-6877; or contact the Claims Administrator, (877) 390-3460.  Additional information about the Settlement can also be found at www.UberIPOSecuritiesLitigation.com.