Uber hasn't had it easy over the last year, getting hit with a laundy list of legal problems. The problems don't look to be clearing up anytime soon and are only getting worse.
Uber Vs Waymo
The case between Uber and Waymo has been contentious up to this point due to what's at stake for both companies self-driving car projects. Uber has suffered hit after hit as a result of the case and the hits keep coming. Things only got worse for Uber as a magistrate judge has ordered Uber to give Waymo an unaltered version of the original term sheet for Uber's acquisition of self-driving car developer, Otto. Otto is also the company at the center of Waymo's lawsuit over supposedly stolen trade secrets since Otto's founder, Anthony Levandowski, worked for Waymo's parent company, Alphabet.
Waymo had been asking for the document to be handed over, believing it had pertinent information that could help Waymo's case. Waymo is also demanding access to the due diligence report Uber did before its purchase of Otto last summer. However, up to this point, Uber had been refusing to hand over these documents, claiming the information was meant to stay confidential and was protected by attorney-client privilege. While it may not be everything Waymo wanted, this is still a big win for the company's battle with Uber.
Self-Driving Approval
Otto seems to have caused nothing but headaches for Uber and that trend is ending soon. The San Francisco-based company is now facing investigation from California regulators because of self-driving truck tests. The belief is that Otto may have run truck tests on public highways without getting approval from the state. The inspection is being prepped as an unscheduled visit to prevent Otto from manipulating the inspection in any way.
The inspection is a result of an internal Otto report that was published in 2016 detailing how the self-driving trucks drive the highways surround San Francisco daily. The report contradicted reports Otto had given to California regulators in February, stating that the trucks weren't being operated remotely. Otto only added fuel to the fire thanks to a report for Colorado regulators, detailing how operators switch between manual control and autonomous software, depending on conditions. Given the ruling just handed down in the Waymo case, this inspection couldn't have been planned for a worse time.
