In new Waymo v. Uber order, judge pounds on Waymo

Enlarge / A customized Waymo minivan being shown off at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. (credit: Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

The final details are falling into place as Waymo v. Uber approaches trial later this month. While Uber has been on the receiving end of plenty of harsh words from US District Judge William Alsup, who is overseeing the litigation, this week it became Waymo's turn to feel the heat—and face new limits on its case.

In an order (PDF) published yesterday, Alsup dismissed Otto Trucking, a holding company created by Anthony Levandowski, from the case. The judge stated on the record his suspicions that Waymo intended to improperly use the company as a stand-in for Levandowski, who is not a defendant in the case. The order also throws out one of Waymo's nine alleged trade secrets. Separately, Alsup will unveil an order tomorrow that apparently will kick out Waymo's damages expert.

The Waymo v. Uber litigation began in February, when Waymo accused Levandowski, the chief of Uber's self-driving car project, of stealing more than 14,000 files shortly before he resigned from Google. He founded a startup called Otto, which was sold to Uber within months for $680 million in stock and cash. Levandowski—who is, again, not a defendant in the case—has pleaded the Fifth Amendment and avoided answering questions about the accusations. Uber denies that any secrets ended up on the company's servers and says its lidar technology was built independently.