Ex-Uber worker hit with lawsuit

‘Whistle-blower’ sued by engineers for defamation

Waymo and Uber may have settled their blockbuster lawsuit over self-driving secrets, but the legal drama isn’t finished quite yet.

Four Uber engineers who worked in the company’s security operations are suing Ric Jacobs, a self-described whistle-blower whose complaints about the company’s practices gained prominence as a lawsuit Waymo filed against Uber in February 2017 alleging theft of trade secrets went to trial.

The complaint filed by Mat Henley, Nick Gicinto, Edward Russo and Jake Nocon alleges defamation, saying that Jacobs’ actions “blighted the Plaintiffs and their standing at Uber, sabotaged their employment prospects, and torpedoed their future earnings.”

The late revealing of a letter from Jacobs to top Uber officials, which alleged use of spy tactics against rivals and regulators, delayed the start of the Waymo trial in December with Judge William Alsup ordering more hearings to examine Jacobs’ claims. Henley, Gicinto and Russo were required to testify about Jacobs’ allegations.

Uber denied the claims in what came to be known as the “Jacobs letter,” calling them “fantastical,” but paid him and his lawyers millions of dollars. Angela Padilla, a top lawyer at Uber, said in court that the company paid him to avoid a court battle.

The complaint by Henley and the others allege that Jacobs received a negative performance review, was demoted and was caught in April 2017 moving files off of Uber’s network to a personal account. Jacobs then allegedly sent an email to top Uber executives, including then-CEO Travis Kalanick, stating that he was resigning and making a series of claims about hacking, surveillance and other activities. Henley and the other plaintiffs said these statements were false.

The lawsuit threatens to bring fresh scrutiny of Uber’s security practices at a time when new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced Kalanick last year, is trying to focus attention on the company’s consumer business, including an expansion into bike and car rentals and other new fields.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs declined to comment. A lawyer who previously represented Jacobs did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Uber, which is not named in the lawsuit. The case is Henley et al. v. Jacobs, No. 3:18-cv-2244. Owen Thomas is the San Francisco Chronicle’s business editor. Email: othomas@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @owenthomas