DoorDash wants Uber’s anti-competition lawsuit tossed by the California Superior Court, saying the litigation is a “cynical and calculated scare tactic.”
DoorDash filed the motion alongside a press release on Friday.
“It’s disappointing behavior from a company once known for competing on the merits of its products and innovation,” DoorDash, which tops the online food delivery market in the United States, wrote in the release.
Uber filed a complaint against DoorDash in February, accusing the company of anti-competitive business practices that inflated prices for restaurants and customers. The complaint said DoorDash “devised and is engaged in an unlawful scheme to stifle competition with Uber Eats, its closest rival.”
Uber accused DoorDash in the complaint of leveraging restaurants’ dependence on its app to secure near-exclusive or exclusive use.
“Restaurants simply cannot afford to stand up to DoorDash, and find themselves powerless to choose the service or services that are best for their businesses in the market for first-party delivery,” Uber’s complaint said.
Earnest Analytics reported in February that DoorDash dominated the food delivery market with a 60.7% share. Uber Eats followed at 26.1% and Grubhub at 6.3%.
DoorDash denied Uber’s accusations in the motion on Friday.
Among its arguments, DoorDash said Uber is trying to “shoehorn its competition claims” by using a statute that typically applies to “disputes regarding employee non-compete provisions.”
“Uber’s lawsuit should be seen for what it is: sour grapes from a competitor that has been told by merchants, time and again, that they prefer working with DoorDash,” the company’s motion said. That’s not the basis for a lawsuit — it’s just fair competition. The Court should sustain DoorDash’s demurrer.”
Uber told Business Insider in a statement that it won’t back down.
“It seems like the team at DoorDash is having a hard time understanding the content of our complaint. When restaurants are forced to choose between unfair terms or retaliation, that’s not competition — it’s coercion. Uber will continue to stand up for merchants and for a level playing field. We look forward to presenting the facts in court,” an Uber spokesperson said.
A lawyer for DoorDash told BI, “Uber appears to be upset that they’re losing in the marketplace because DoorDash has better and more innovative products, but that isn’t a legitimate basis for a lawsuit.”
“Uber’s legal claims are meritless and should be dismissed,” the lawyer said.
DoorDash isn’t Uber’s only legal battle this year. In April, the Federal Trade Commission sued Uber, saying the company added users to its Uber One subscription program without their consent.
The FTC said in a press release that the company “failed to deliver promised savings” and made it tough for users to cancel the service.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told Semafor on Friday that the FTC’s lawsuit was a “head-scratcher.”
“We make it incredibly easy to sign up for Uber One, the value is enormous, the renewal rates are over 90%. It’s a great product,” Khosrowshahi said. “We allow you to cancel. We allow you to pause. That one was a head-scratcher for me.”
Read the full article here
