Ousted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has hired a new set of lawyers who are seeking to move the lawsuit brought by Benchmark Capital to arbitration instead of to a courtroom.
Travis Kalanick’s new lawyers say the Uber-Benchmark lawsuit belongs in arbitration
It’s the opening salvo in what will likely be a long, long battle.
Kalanick will be represented in the Benchmark case by Potter Anderson & Corroon, according to documents filed Monday, and their attorneys Donald J. Wolfe Jr., Brad Davey and Matt Belger. Wolfe has substantial experience in corporate lawsuits that appear in the Court of Chancery in Delaware, where he is based; he represented National Amusements in the Viacom-Redstone case, along with Walmart as it battled allegations of bribery in Mexico.
In their first legal move since Benchmark filed its lawsuit on Thursday, Kalanick’s team is arguing that the court doesn’t have jurisdiction over the case. Wolfe on Monday submitted Uber’s “Voting Agreement,” which indicates that controversies that do not revolve around intellectual property rights “shall be submitted to arbitration.”
Kalanick’s lawyers say they will file a motion to dismiss the case and formally move it to arbitration, but they have until Aug. 30 to respond to the merits of Benchmark’s complaint.
Kalanick is represented by a different law firm, Orrick, in the Waymo lawsuit. Orrick declined to comment this weekend whether it would also represent him in the Benchmark case.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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