Theane D. Evangelis

Evangelis played a leading role in helping Grubhub Inc. prevail in a closely watched case focused on whether the food delivery service misclassified a driver as an independent contractor.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s February ruling that the plaintiff was not an employee came in what was believed to be the first gig economy misclassification case to make it to trial. Lawson v. Grubhub Inc., 15-CV05128 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 8, 2018).

Evangelis said she and her colleagues from Gibson Dunn took an aggressive approach to the litigation from the start. Prior to discovery commencing, Grubhub filed a motion to deny class certification. The motion was granted, leaving former driver Raef Lawson as the sole plaintiff.

“That dramatically changed the landscape and allowed us to really focus on the plaintiff,” Evangelis said. “We felt he could never be considered an employee based on a common sense understanding of the term, and certainly not under California law.”

Corley’s detailed ruling, which the plaintiff has appealed, outlined the reasons why Lawson was not an employee. The ruling highlighted that Grubhub did not control his work.

“It provides a very helpful roadmap to companies in this area,” said Evangelis, who is based in Los Angeles.

She has also defended Uber Technologies Inc. against putative class actions alleging driver misclassification.

Evangelis has helped the ride-hailing company rack up appellate victories in the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals with Zawada v. Uber, 17-1092, and the 11th Circuit with Suarez v. Uber, 16-13263. The courts have ruled the plaintiffs must individually arbitrate claims pursuant to Uber’s arbitration agreement.

“We have been pleased to see courts across the country have been ruling in Uber’s favor and agreeing with us on the enforceability of that agreement,” Evangelis said.

She said she finds it fascinating to work on legal matters pertaining to new and constantly changing technologies.

— Lyle Moran