Judge denies stay in Uber-Waymo’s lawsuit

A magistrate judge in the Uber-Waymo lawsuit has ruled that Uber must hand over a key document that sheds light on what it knew about the alleged theft of trade secrets from Waymo’s self-driving car unit. Waymo claimed that Anthony Lewandowski downloaded more than 14000 files before exiting the company to set up Otto- a self-driving truck firm in January 2016. Uber acquired Otto in August for $680mn.

The document in question is a report on Levandowski’s startup prepared by Uber during its acquisition talks with the firm in 2016. Waymo has been seeking a copy of the report as part of its preparation for trial, but Uber has refused to turn it over, citing attorney-client privilege. The dispute was reviewed by a magistrate judge, who issued a ruling under seal earlier this week, meaning the outcome was known only to Uber and Waymo.

Uber has denied Waymo’s trade-secret theft allegations and insisted that its technology has been developed without any significant input from Lewandowski. The legal battle pits two of Silicon Valley's most-watched companies against each other. Between the two, Uber has more to lose.

While Waymo’s suit focuses on the actions of Lewandowski, the case is against Uber. Waymo alleges that Uber conspired with Lewandowski to steal its designs.

Complicating the matters is the fact that Lewandowski has pleaded his Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment protects the individual against self-incrimination. This means that he can refuse to answer any questions about the alleged file theft. But Uber is trying to convince Lewandowski to open up to the investigation. Angela Padilla, Uber’s associate counsel general, wrote in an email obtained by The New York Times “Uber has urged Lewandowski to fully co-operate in helping the court get to the facts and ultimately helping to prove our case.” A trial is scheduled to be conducted in October. Spokespersons for both Uber and Waymo declined to comment.