A French businessman from Côte d’Azur has sued Uber, asking for no less €45 million in damages, or around US$48 million. The reason is mildly amusing, unless of course you’re the man who filed the lawsuit: He claims Uber was the cause of his divorce.
As French news site Le Figaro explains, a notification bug in Uber allowed his wife to spy on him without his knowledge. The man used her iPhone to order Ubers, and then he signed out of the app. However, notifications for his Uber account kept arriving on her phone after that, even though he was signed out.
That’s probably how his wife figured out he was lying about certain things, since she was able to see all his Uber notifications without alerting him. She was able to see details about his orders, including driver name, license plate, and arrival time. She may not have been able to track his location in real time or see the destinations, but she received plenty of information that would let her know when he was lying. For example, a “working late at the office” excuse doesn’t really work in your favor if you keep taking Uber rides all evening long, and someone can prove it.
Le Figaro was able to replicate the bug, but only on iPhones and only using an Uber app version older than the December 15th update. That update apparently fixeed the issue.
The case should head to court next month. It’s unclear why the man is asking for so much money or what his wife learned from the notifications she was receiving. Suffice to say that she divorced him after that, at least according to his suit.
Uber, meanwhile, will not comment on the case. “”Uber doesn’t comment publicly on individual cases, and especially on cases that involve a divorcing couple,” a spokesperson told the French site.
