Uber's recently fired CEO, Travis Kalanick, knew that his top self-driving car engineer had Google files in his possession in March 2016, according to newly filed court documents.

The admission was made by Uber lawyers as part of a response to Waymo discovery demands. Uber lawyers served the response on June 8, and it was revealed in a public court motion (PDF) filed by Waymo lawyers late yesterday.

According to Uber, former self-driving car chief Anthony Levandowski told Kalanick that "he had identified five discs in his possession containing Google information." Kalanick told Levandowski not to bring any Google information into Uber. Levandowski later told Uber he destroyed the discs, and Uber never got the discs, according to Uber lawyers.

Waymo sued Uber in February, claiming that the company had trade secrets brought in by Levandowski, an engineer who once worked at Google but quit abruptly in January 2016. Levandowski went on to found his own self-driving car startup, which was purchased by Uber for $680 million. Google has accused Levandowski, who is not a defendant in the case, of downloading more than 14,000 files that contained Google trade secrets and taking them with him. Levandowski has not denied those allegations and has declined to answer most questions, instead asserting his Fifth Amendment rights.

The motion, reported on earlier today by Bloomberg, states that Uber has violated its discovery obligations and asks for a hearing to consider whether Uber should be held in contempt.

US District Judge William Alsup ordered Uber last month to do everything in its power to search for and return Google's files. Levandowski didn't comply with Uber's demands and was fired

Meanwhile, Uber has been mired in other controversies. The company has ushered in a series of changes following an internal investigation into its alleged corporate culture of sexual harassment and bullying. That led to CEO Kalanick resigning this week.

Here's Uber's full response regarding the five discs, as quoted by Waymo:

On or about March 11, 2016, Mr. Levandowski reported to [Travis] Kalanick, Nina Qi and Cameron Poetzscher at Uber as well as Lior Ron that he had identified five discs in his possession containing Google information. Mr. Kalanick conveyed to Mr. Levandowski in response that Mr. Levandowski should not bring any Google information into Uber and that Uber did not want any Google information. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Levandowski communicated to Uber that he had destroyed the discs.

Spokespersons for both Waymo and Uber didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.