Friday, January 24, 2014

unfair competition in the news

The facts described in this article about Uber's alleged attempt to crush competitor Gett by booking and then cancelling rides seem like a pretty good candidate for application of the general unfair competition tort.  Hypo of the day: what causes of action would you allege on Gett's behalf, assuming the facts as reported?

1 comment:

Thomas Cotter said...

Good hypo. Tortious interference with prospective business advantage is a possibility, though its success depends on how New York applies the "improper purpose" element of the tort. The means used by Uber probably aren't contrary to law, though I imagine they are contrary to established business custom.
I'll have to use that in my unfair competition course this semester.