Anthony Levandowski Just Pled The Fifth, Uber In Really Hot Water Now

If anyone assumed that Uber would just shrug off the lawsuit filed by Waymo against it, it seems Anthony Levandowski is going to prove them wrong. By pleading The Fifth and at his lawyer’s urging, at that, the cab-hailing firm seems to be in a worse predicament than some thought. This case has become a bigger PR nightmare for a company that is already trying to put out multiple fires.

This whole mess started when Google’s self-driving car division sued Uber last month over stolen technology. Waymo accused former employees of making away with company secrets before leaving to start a company called Otto, which was subsequently snatched up by the cab-hailing firm. During the ongoing court case, it seems Uber’s legal team is nervous about certain documents, in particular.

Tech Crunch got a hold of Thursday’s court transcript, detailing how the Otto co-founder’s lawyer invoked The Fifth with regards to some documents that they were supposed to submit. Uber’s legal team is asserting that the documents that prove Levandowski’s theft is not in their possession and they are therefore unable to provide it.

“We’re broadly asserting Mr. Levandowski’s Fifth Amendment rights as to any documents he may possess and control that are of relevance to this action,” the lawyer told the court.

Judge William Alsup is handling the case and he had some choice words for both companies. When addressing Waymo, the Judge Alsup said that some of the items on the tech firm’s motion are, in his words, “bogus.” Turning to Uber, the judge also warned the cab-hailing firm that no matter how the case turns out, they could be facing some serious consequences.

“There are some things in that motion that are very serious,” Judge Alsup told Uber. “They are genuine trade secrets. And if you don’t come in with a denial, you’re probably looking at a preliminary injunction.”