Lawsuits against Uber go forward with limits

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón has been critical of Uber’s claims about background checks. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón has been critical of Uber’s claims about background checks. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Lawsuits against Uber go forward with limits 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco Superior Court judge affirmed that a lawsuit over Uber’s safety claims, airport rides and fee calculations can go forward, but ordered the parties — the ride-hailing company and the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles — to pursue mediation.

The lawsuit filed by the two district attorneys in December 2014 alleges that Uber misled customers about driver background checks, lacked permits to operate at airports and didn’t let regulators check the accuracy of its fare calculations. Uber sought to have the case thrown out, but Judge Mary Wiss ruled this week that it can go forward, although she tentatively limited its scope. She did not rule on the case’s merits.

The case was filed on behalf of all California consumers, but Wiss confined it to San Francisco and Los Angeles counties for now. Uber’s potential liability for civil penalties and passenger restitution will be considerably less than if the case were statewide.

The agencies cited Uber’s boasts about ride safety as misleading. Uber sought to have the lawsuit dismissed and said its language constituted mere “puffery.” Wiss disagreed, finding that Uber’s claims to have the “safest ride on the road” and “industry-leading background checks” are “actionable misrepresentations of fact.”

Such claims “are likely to lead reasonable consumers to believe that Uber rides are statistically most likely to keep riders from harm,” she wrote.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón alleged at a press conference last summer that Uber drivers included convicted sex offenders, identity thieves, burglars, kidnappers and a murderer.

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Wiss appeared to concur with Uber’s arguments that it is unlikely to repeat some of the alleged misdoings in the future, such as charging a safe rides fee, charging an airport toll and using its app to calculate fares without regulatory approval.

“This is another procedural step in the judicial process not based on the merits of the case,” Uber said.

Rival ride company Lyft settled similar allegations 15 months ago by paying a fine and agreeing to change some claims and actions.

In the Uber case, the lawsuit’s claims have been overtaken by events, underscoring how rapidly the landscape is changing for the 5-year-old startup. Uber now has permission to operate at all major California airports and its app has been tested by the California Division of Measurement Standards.

Last month, Uber settled similar allegations over its safety claims in two class-action lawsuits by agreeing to pay $28.5 million and rein in its superlatives when describing safety and background checks. Uber now will call the “safe rides fee” a “booking fee.”

Gascón’s office said that ceasing illegal behavior doesn’t mean a lawsuit should end. “When a company breaks the law it is the district attorney's responsibility to obtain restitution for victims, punish the corporation for its unlawful behavior, and ensure the violator — and other potential violators — are deterred from engaging in illegal business practices,” said Max Szabo, a spokesman for Gascón.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid