Some Uber investors are demanding that the company inspect its records to find evidence of Benchmark Capital leaking confidential information to employees and others.
On the heels of yesterday’s motion to intervene in the Benchmark lawsuit, lawyers for Uber investors Shervin Pishevar and Stephen Russell have submitted a “Rule 220 demand,” which we’ve obtained.
According to the document, these Uber shareholders are demanding that 13 potential sources of information get examined, including communication between Benchmark board members and Uber employees, particularly related to the Eric Holder investigation into the company. “The stockholders demand the rights to inspect all books and records.”
The demand also references Pishevar’s letter to the Uber board about Benchmark, which he submitted yesterday.
Pishevar, a close confidant of Kalanick, has taken the former Uber CEO’s side in the legal battle with early Uber investor, Benchmark Capital.
Co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick was pressured to resign in June, following months of negative publicity and an investigation into the company’s culture. The turn of events was partly kicked off by former employee Susan Fowler’s blog post, which alleged that Uber had a sexist company culture. There have also been legal battles, particularly with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Google parent, Alphabet.
Now the drama relates to the selection of Uber’s next CEO. Benchmark wants Kalanick off the board and Pishevar wants Benchmark off. Former G.E. CEO Jeff Immelt is one of the candidates that the board has been speaking to.
The stakes are high for the company, which had a $68.5 billion valuation in its last private round.
We’ve requested comment from Uber.
See below for the demand.
220 Demand by Katie Roof on Scribd