The Waymo-Uber legal saga continues. Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving company, claimed on Monday that Uber violated a court’s order to produce any and all documents in its possession that so much as mentioned information from the 14,000 confidential files allegedly downloaded by autonomous-car engineer Anthony Levandowski before he left Alphabet. Levandowski is now the head of all of Uber’s self-driving efforts.
P
In a letter filed publicly to Judge William Aslup, Waymo’s attorney says that Uber’s search for the documents was willfully limited and insufficient, and did not include an investigation of the personal devices of Levandowski, now a VP of engineering. After conducting its investigation of Levandowski’s work computer, the computers of two other people named in the suit and seven randomly chosen employees, Uber only produced 900 documents.
P
Waymo’s attorneys are asking the judge to either compel Uber to produce the documents it claims Levandowski stole, or to assume that the ride-hail company is withholding them because it was using – and is continuing to use – the stolen information to develop its self-driving system.
P
Uber’s conduct plainly is designed to delay the expedited proceedings ordered by this Court and stonewall Waymo’s request for preliminary relief, the court filing reads. Specifically, for purposes of Waymo’s motion for preliminary injunction, the Court should issue an adverse inference that the downloaded files were and continue to be used by Uber in the development of its custom LiDAR system.
P
An Uber spokesman says the company only produced those 900 documents after it conducted what it calls an extensive search, because it doesn’t believe it has the files and can’t force its employees to turn over personal property. Uber also points out that Waymo could have sued Levandowski personally, but it chose not to.
P
To make matters worse for Uber, Levandowski asserted his Fifth Amendment rights last week after…