Family cannot sue Uber after daughter agreed to waive jury trial during Uber Eats order: Court

A New Jersey court determined late last month that a family cannot sue Uber over an accident in 2022, because their daughter clicked away their rights to a jury trial when ordering a pizza on Uber Eats.

Georgia and John McGinty were injured in an car crash in March of 2022, which occurred when the Uber driver blew through a red light and broadsided another car. Georgia McGinty experienced cervical and lumbar spine fractures, rib fractures, a hernia and other “traumatic injuries” to her abdominal wall and pelvic floor, per NBC News.

The husband suffered a fractured sternum and severe fractures to his left arm and wrist.

Attorneys for Uber argued that the couple's daughter's actions of waiving their rights means they cannot sue the company over the injuries through a regular jury trial, but they could still face a private arbitrator.

The state court agreed that the daughter's actions protected the company because the daughter, a minor, had her mother's permission. Georgia McGinty did not specifically watch her daughter order the pizza, because she and John McGinty were packing for a vacation at the time. 

“Georgia certified that her daughter was ‘capable,’ would frequently order food, and she and John were preoccupied with packing, which supports the inference that the daughter acted knowingly on Georgia’s behalf,” the state court ruled.

The couple said they plan to appeal the court's ruling.

The case comes after a Florida man tried to sue Disneyworld for at least $50,000 over an alleged wrongful death after his wife died at a restaurant in Disney Springs in October of 2023 due to an allergic reaction to nuts and dairy, despite repeatedly being assured her food would not contain those ingredients. Disney initially argued against the lawsuit by pointing to a similar arbitration requirement for Disney+.  The man had signed up for a one-month trial of the streaming service years previously.

The Disney corporation dropped its bid to dismiss its lawsuit in August, claiming the "unique circumstances" of the case merit a more sensitive approach.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.