Item 1. Legal Proceedings
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In the ordinary course of our business, we are regularly subject to claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, administrative actions, regulatory inquiries and audits, government investigations, and other legal and regulatory proceedings at the federal, state, and municipal levels, including involving personal injury, property damage, labor and employment, anti-discrimination, commercial disputes, consumer complaints, intellectual property disputes, compliance with regulatory requirements, and other matters, and we may become subject to additional types of claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, administrative actions, government investigations, and legal and regulatory proceedings in the future and as our business grows. Information is provided below regarding the nature and status of our material pending legal matters. There are inherent uncertainties in these legal matters, some of which are beyond management’s control, making the ultimate outcomes difficult to predict. Moreover, management’s views and estimates related to these matters may change in the future, as new events and circumstances arise and the matters continue to develop.
Independent Contractor Classification Matters
At Via, we employ drivers and also engage independent contractor driver partners. We select the appropriate labor model based on the requirements of the service, the needs of our partners and the applicable laws in the jurisdiction in which we are operating. Driver partners are appropriately classified as independent contractors because, among other things, they can choose whether, when, and where to provide services on our platform, are free to provide services on other ridesharing platforms, and own, rent or lease the vehicles they use to perform services on our platform. We go to great lengths to distinguish between employees and independent contractors and ensure that drivers are appropriately classified.
We have in the past been subject to claims, lawsuits, arbitration proceedings, administrative actions, regulatory inquiries and audits, government investigations, and other legal and regulatory proceedings challenging the classification of independent contractor driver partners on our platform. Laws and regulations that govern the status and classification of independent contractors are subject to change and divergent interpretations by various authorities, which can create uncertainty and unpredictability for us. We maintain that all independent contractor driver partners on our platform are appropriately classified, dispute any allegations of wrongdoing and intend to continue to defend ourselves vigorously in these matters.
In the ordinary course of our business, various drivers have challenged, and may challenge in the future, their classification on our platform as an independent contractor seeking monetary damages, injunctive, or other relief under federal and state law. In May 2025, a former independent contractor driver in the Seattle area filed a putative class or collective action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) and a similar action in Washington State Superior Court alleging misclassification. The Washington state court granted our motion to compel individual arbitration, and the plaintiff’s motion for discretionary review is pending. We filed a similar motion to compel individual arbitration in the SDNY, which also remains pending. In September 2025, we attended a mediation with a group of former independent contractor driver partners in California. In October 2025, we settled a putative class or collective action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of independent contractor driver partners for $45,000.
We have in the past resolved similar litigation in New York, California, Illinois, and New Jersey. We have also resolved litigation under California’s Private Attorney General Act, which alleged that we misclassified drivers who provided services on our platform in California.
We believe we have meritorious defenses, dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in all active labor matters. However, in certain of these matters, we have engaged in pre-arbitration settlement discussions or mediation to save the time and expense of further litigation and trial preparation. Regardless of the outcome, litigation and arbitration of these matters may have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors.
We are also involved in administrative audits related to driver classification in New Jersey. These audits relate to unemployment insurance benefits to independent contractor driver partners. We contend that the driver partners are appropriately classified and that we are not obligated to provide additional benefits under state law and these proceedings are ongoing.
Labor Disputes and Litigation
As of September 30, 2025, certain of our driver employees in the United States were represented by a labor union and covered under a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages due to labor disputes, and we are committed to good faith negotiations with labor unions and compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements.
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From time to time, we have had occasional labor disputes. Since 2020, the Amalgamated Transit Union (“ATU”) and other labor unions have filed and may continue to file unfair labor practices charges with the NLRB and grievances against us primarily related to disputes over union voting and collective bargaining. In addition, we have inherited and may inherit in the future unfair labor practices charges from prior operators whose contracts we have taken over. We are in the process of reaching resolution on outstanding claims.
Employment Disputes and Litigation
In addition to challenges to labor or classification disputes, we have in the past been, are currently, and may in the future become, involved in private actions, collective actions and various other legal proceedings brought by drivers and employees related to other employment-related claims, such as workers compensation claims, employment discrimination claims, Americans with Disabilities Act, (“ADA”) claims, claims related to safety practices, challenges to regulations, and other matters. The results of any such litigation and legal proceedings are inherently unpredictable. Any claims against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time consuming, costly, harmful to our reputation, and could require management time and corporate resources.
Patent Litigation
On May 3, 2021, we filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging that a competitor, RideCo, Inc. (“RideCo”), had been intentionally infringing on our patents, and specifically, our patented virtual bus stop technology for efficient, on-demand dynamic routing for microtransit vehicles (U.S. Patent Nos. 9,562,785, 9,816,824, 10,197,411 and 10,677,604).
On July 26, 2021, RideCo filed an answer and counterclaim alleging that we are infringing on RideCo’s technology for variant trip booking options (U.S. Patent Nos. 10,248,913 and No. 10,853,743), which we denied.
RideCo challenged Via’s patents before the USPTO in an inter partes review. The USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “USPTO Board”) upheld patents for the virtual bus stop technology invented by Via in two successive, unanimous rulings. On June 23, 2023, the USPTO Board decision concluded that RideCo did not show by a preponderance of the evidence that Via’s challenged claims of the ‘824 patent were unpatentable. On August 17, 2023, the USPTO Board issued its final decision and we prevailed on all the challenged claims on our ‘411 patent. The USPTO Board found that RideCo failed to establish its claims that our ‘411 patent was unpatentable.
On January 30, 2025, following a trial in the Western District of Texas, we won a unanimous jury verdict against RideCo whereby the jury found that RideCo infringed our three Virtual Bus Stop patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 9,562,785, 9,816,824, and 10,197,411) and ordered RideCo to pay us approximately $1.4 million in damages. RideCo withdrew its claims that our patents were invalid, resulting in a judgment as a matter of law in our favor on the issue of validity. We also prevailed against RideCo’s counterclaims: the jury found that we did not infringe either of RideCo’s two asserted patents and we are entitled to collect supplemental damages for infringement from 2022 through the date of the verdict, as well as post-judgment interest. RideCo moved for a new trial and judgment as matter of law; both motions were denied. We were granted a 10% reasonable royalty from RideCo’s continued infringing sales. The court filed an amended final judgment and RideCo has deposited a total of $4.7 million in damages and royalty payments in escrow with the Clerk of Court, pending its appeal. RideCo’s next royalty payment to Via is due in January 20 26. RideCo appealed the verdict and we cross-appealed the denial of our permanent injunction. As a result of the ongoing appeals process, the settlement amount including the balance held in escrow, has not yet been reflected in our financial results.
Personal Injury Matters
In the ordinary course of our business, various parties have from time to time claimed, and may claim in the future, that we are liable for damages related to accidents or other incidents involving independent contractor driver partners, passengers or other third parties using or who have used services offered on our platform. We and/or our subsidiaries are currently named as a defendant in certain of these types of matters, most of which are small claims pending in state courts. In many of these matters, we believe we have meritorious defenses, dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. Most of the losses arising from auto liability litigation is covered by our insurance, but certain losses may be within our deducible, self-insured retention or retained risk layer. We may also incur certain losses exceeding the limits of our insurance.
Results of litigation and claims are inherently unpredictable and legal proceedings related to such accidents or incidents, in the aggregate, could have a material impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs individually and in the aggregate, diversion of management resources and other factors.
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Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.