New York judge tosses Uber lawsuit claiming lawyers inflated injury claims
Published Tue, Aug 18, 2026 · 06:37 AM
UBER has hit a roadblock in a series of lawsuits it lodged against personal injury lawyers in four US states, after a judge dismissed its case against three law firms in New York.
Uber alleged the firms violated the federal anti-racketeering law known as Rico by conspiring with doctors to bring cases against the rideshare giant with exaggerated or fabricated injury claims in order to extract inflated payouts.
US District Judge Orelia Merchant in Brooklyn dismissed the case on Friday (Aug 14), ruling that Uber failed to show that the firms benefited from their association with the doctors, “other than from commonplace fee-sharing arrangements, client referrals, and medical testimony, not bribes.”
Jennifer Schubert, a lawyer for defendants Banilov & Associates and the Lavelle Law Firm, said in an email that Uber’s complaint was baseless and that her clients “will not be intimidated by Uber. This ruling vindicates them.”
Lawyers for the third law firm defendant, Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The firms had denied Uber’s claims.
An Uber spokesperson said in a statement that the company is considering “all options” and “we look forward to having these claims vindicated at the appropriate time.”
In addition to ruling that Uber failed to plausibly allege Rico violations, the judge found that Uber could not yet show it suffered any harm, because in the five injury cases it cited in its July 2025 amended complaint, three are still pending in New York state court.
“It cannot yet be determined whether Uber will prevail in the pending cases, nor what remedies may be available to it to reduce its costs, such as seeking costs or sanctions through cross-claims and counterclaims,” Merchant said.
The judge also dismissed Uber’s claims in the case against a group of doctors and individual lawyers. The case is one of at least four Uber has filed in the last two years invoking civil Rico provisions against lawyers in US federal courts.
Civil plaintiffs can have their damages tripled under Rico; Uber did not specify its damages in its amended complaint. The other three cases, targeting law firms and doctors in Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia, are still pending. REUTERS
