Uber back in court as taxi app GoCatch alleges intentional harm

Uber has been accused of destroying its primary Australian rival through conspiracy, unlawful conduct and covert surveillance, as a legal trial brought by GoCatch began in Victoria’s Supreme Court on Tuesday morning.

GoCatch was a taxi booking app operating in Australia before Uber’s arrival, backed by big name investors including James Packer. In opening remarks, its legal representatives said the service would have continued to be successful had the Silicon Valley giant played by the rules. Instead, Uber took any means necessary to destroy the Australian start-up, the legal representatives alleged.

Uber’s low-cost ride-shares became very popular in Australia in 2014, despite not being legal.Credit: Bloomberg

When Uber arrived in Australia in 2012, it operated hire cars, and launched a taxi service in 2013. At the time, ride-shares were not legal, as operators, drivers and cars had to be properly accredited.

However, Uber launched its ride-sharing service UberX in Australia in 2014, recruiting drivers on social media with the promise of easy income and growing a large base of customers with rides that were far cheaper than taxis, and continued operating despite attempts by police and regulators to intervene, including a raid of its Sydney headquarters.

Ride-share regulation came into effect in Australia from December 2015, by which point Uber was already dominant. GoCatch’s attempt to launch a rival ride-share service called GoCar was ultimately not successful.

GoCatch barrister Michael Hodge, KC, presented internal Uber emails that he said showed the illegal operations were part of a campaign to bury GoCatch, which Uber has denied. Statements in the emails include then-Australian Uber boss David Rohrsheim (who is not being sued and is not being called as a witness) allegedly saying, “I want to destroy them before they get too legit”, and lists of priorities for Australian operations including “Destroy GoCatch”.

“It is reality-defying of Uber to claim that one of its purposes for launching UberX was not to compete with GoCatch,” Hodge said.

“But not, to be clear, an inconsistent defiance of reality.”

Hodge also complained about the way Uber had conducted itself in the trial so far, saying it had largely refused to acknowledge that its ride-share operation was illegal except for in the statement of agreed facts lodged on Monday evening, and declined to provide a list of directors for its various subsidiaries.

“What it effects is an approach Uber has taken throughout the litigation; wait until the last possible moment, and only when they have been dragged kicking and screaming to our conclusion can they make an admission,” he said.

Billionaire James Packer was an early backer of GoCatch.Credit: Getty Images

The trial is set to run over 10 weeks. GoCatch intends to show that Uber knew the UberX ride-sharing service it launched in 2014 was illegal, that it conspired between its various arms to keep regulators from accessing its records, and that it specifically targeted GoCatch.

It will claim that Uber executives discussed crushing GoCatch with UberX because it couldn’t beat them at taxis, and that it used spyware to collect GoCatch data and poach its drivers.

Emails shown by Hodge appear to show Rohrsheim gloating about acquiring a list of GoCatch drivers’ phone numbers.

GoCatch co-founder Andrew Campbell said it had been a long process to get this case to trial, but that he was glad to have the issue finally aired in public.

“For my part, Uber has never accepted responsibility for its conduct towards GoCatch. Uber’s first priority was to win at any cost using any method to destroy us as a competitive threat,” he said.

“We are fortunate to be in a position to go to court as we believe that is the only pathway for Uber to be held accountable.”

The company’s legal representatives said GoCatch was raising capital and would have maintained its growth trajectory had Uber not acted illegally, putting it in a good place to compete in ride-sharing once it was legalised.

This is the main point Uber plans to dispute, as it will argue GoCatch declined for unrelated reasons. Uber denies using spyware in the way alleged.

“Uber firmly rejects any suggestion that we should be liable for the failure of other P2P businesses to adapt to an emerging competitive landscape,” Uber said in a statement.

“We will vigorously defend the matter in court.”

This latest case comes after Uber recently settled a class action with Australian taxi drivers, who had alleged they were harmed by Uber’s then-illegal business. Uber admitted no fault in that case, but agreed to pay $272 million.

Regarding that case, an Uber spokesperson referred to its illegal operations as “legacy issues” that it had put behind it, and said that ride-sharing regulation did not exist at the time.

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