Uber Sues DoorDash Over Alleged Anti-Competitive Tactics

Ride-sharing giant Uber has filed a lawsuit against food delivery service DoorDash, accusing the company of using anti-competitive practices to stifle competition.

In the lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of California, Uber alleges that DoorDash, which holds the largest share of the U.S. food delivery market, has been bullying restaurants into exclusive or near-exclusive deals for its first-party delivery services.

Specifically, Uber claims that DoorDash threatens restaurants with multimillion-dollar penalties or the removal/demotion of their business on the DoorDash app if they work with Uber's competing delivery service, Uber Direct.

"Uber's case has no merit," a DoorDash spokesperson said in a statement. "Their claims are unfounded and based on their inability to offer merchants, consumers, or couriers a quality alternative."

The lawsuit provides an example where an unnamed "significant restaurant company" told Uber it would not move forward with a planned rollout of Uber Direct across several of its brands. Uber alleges this was due to DoorDash threatening to increase the rates it charges the restaurant if it continued to use Uber Direct.

Uber claims these anti-competitive practices have cost the company "millions of dollars in revenue" and restricted the growth of its Uber Direct service, which launched in 2020 to compete with DoorDash's own white-label delivery offering.

"More than 1 million merchants partner with Uber Eats because we've helped them to reach more customers and provided them the freedom to decide how they want to grow their businesses with delivery," said Sarfraz Maredia, head of the Americas for delivery at Uber. "We've increasingly heard complaints from restaurants that DoorDash's tactics are limiting that freedom and punishing them for seeking better options."

Uber is seeking a jury trial, though the company did not specify the amount of damages in the complaint. The lawsuit is the latest development in the fierce competition between the two delivery giants as they battle for market share and restaurant partnerships.