A judge on Thursday blocked an $84 million settlement agreement between Uber Technologies Inc. and its drivers. U.S. District Judge Judge Edward Chen found the settlement amount inadequate, but not necessarily because of the core agreement that would net most drivers $24 or less. Instead, the judge found that a part of the lawsuit that, under California labor law, allows workers to recover fines that could be assessed by the state, settled for too little. That part of the settlement was for $1 million, while estimates say that Uber could have been forced to pay as much as $1 billion if it lost at trial. “Here, the Court cannot find that the PAGA settlement is fair and adequate in view of the purposes and policies of the statute,” Chen wrote in his ruling. “Plaintiffs propose settling PAGA for only 0.1% of the potential verdict value.” Uber was unhappy with the decision, saying in a statement, “The settlement, mutually agreed by both sides, was fair and reasonable. We’re disappointed in this decision and are taking a look at our options.”
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