Uber takes its foreign agent for a ride

The remedy for the breach of an employment contract is limited to actual damages, and California law is generally strong in protecting an employer that wrongfully terminates an employee from tort (wrongful act) damages, such as punitive damages or payment for emotional distress. There are already huge exceptions to this doctrine, such as the tort damages available if an employer engages in unlawful discrimination or harassment. The California Supreme Court has just opened a new avenue for tort recovery for certain brands of “fraudulent concealment.”

Uber hires lawyer and local registered representative

Michael Rattagan is a citizen of Argentina and describes himself as “one of the top and most renowned business lawyers in Buenos Aires.” He is licensed to practice law in Argentina and the State of New York. At all relevant times, he was the managing partner of Rattagan Macchiavello Arocena, a law firm that “counsels large multinational companies in various business matters, with an emphasis on transactions, investments and interests in Argentina.”

Under the direction of Uber Technologies, Inc.’s legal department in San Francisco, in February 2013 two Dutch Uber subsidiaries retained Rattagan and his firm to provide specific legal services, including reserving them under the corporate name “Uber Argentina, S.A.,” creating all the corporate formation documents and registering Uber Argentina S.A. with the Buenos Aires Office of Corporations.