Criminal charges come up as Google, Uber spar over Waymo lawsuit

An Uber executive accused of stealing driverless car technology from his former employers at Google is exercising his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination, according to his lawyers.

The lawyers for Anthony Levandowski, the former head of Google’s self-driving car project who is now leading a similar effort at Uber, said he was broadly asserting his Fifth Amendment rights because there is “potential for criminal action” in the case, according to court transcripts released Thursday.

The legal maneuver adds even more intrigue to the high-profile fight between two of the technology industry’s largest companies, which are squaring off in the race to put driverless cars on the road.

Waymo has accused Levandowski of stealing documents and poaching employees before quitting Google and then colluding with Uber to use that technology to advance driverless car efforts at the ride-hailing service.

In the transcript of a private hearing before Judge William Alsup in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Levandowski’s lawyers said he was invoking his Fifth Amendment right to avoid incrimination in turning over documents relevant to the case.

Several months before filing a lawsuit against Uber, Google demanded arbitration against Levandowski, claiming that he used confidential salary information while trying to poach former colleagues for his new venture.

Uber wants to settle the lawsuit in arbitration, arguing that Waymo’s claims stem from Levandowski’s time at Google and are covered by an arbitration clause in his employment contract.

In Wednesday’s motion, Uber said that Waymo filed two arbitration demands against Levandowski in October saying that he breached the confidentiality agreement in his employment contract with Google when he used confidential salary information to make “targeted offers to Waymo’s employees” to aid Uber and Otto.