A New Jersey couple cannot sue Uber over a life-altering car accident because their daughter previously agreed to the terms and conditions of the Uber Eats app, a state appeals court has ruled.
John and Georgia McGinty — a Mercer County couple both in their 50s — filed a lawsuit against the ride-sharing company in February 2023, nearly a year after suffering “ serious physical, psychological, and financial damages” when the Uber they were riding in crashed into another car, according to court filings .
“There are physical scars, mental scars, and I don’t think that they will ever really be able to go back to their full capacity that they were at before,” says their attorney, Mike Shapiro.
Uber responded by filing a motion to dismiss the complaint and compel arbitration, which would require the parties to resolve their differences outside of court instead — ostensibly benefiting the company by lowering legal costs and keeping proceedings private.
It argued that Georgia McGinty, a longtime customer of Uber Rides and Uber Eats, had agreed to arbitrate any disputes with the company when she signed off on the language in the app’s terms of use on three occasions over the years.