sue uber co-founder travis kalanick
Early investor sues Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick for fraud
Uber co-founder and former chief executive Travis Kalanick is being sued for fraud by Benchmark Capital, one of the ride-hailing giant's earliest investors. In a suit filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court, the Menlo Park venture capital firm alleges that Kalanick breached his fiduciary duty and contractual obligations by stacking the company's board with allies to shield his conduct from redress. The suit, which names both Kalanick and Uber, contends this was done to "clear the path for his eventual return as CEO -- all to the detriment of Uber's stockholders, employees, driver-partners, and customers." Kalanick stepped down as Uber's CEO in June after a series of controversies, including a lawsuit by Google's self-driving-car subsidiary, Waymo, alleging theft of trade secrets; another lawsuit by a woman in India who alleged Uber obtained her medical records after she was raped by one of the company's drivers; and widespread allegations of sexual harassment at the firm. Benchmark cited all three cases in its suit as examples of Kalanick's mismanagement.