Dive Brief:

• The closely followed lawsuit filed by drivers against Lyft may address monetary reimbursement and other related issues, but the critical decision of whether the drivers are contractors or employees could be left hanging, according to the Courthouse News Service. 

• The article explains Lyft's $12.25 million settlement fund for about 100,000 drivers is one thing, but it seems Lyft is not going to be forced by this court to reclassify its drivers as employees, which would drive up operating costs considerably and also be a precursor for similar legal battles involving "on-demand" players, including Lyft competitor Uber.

• Late last week, District Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seemed to indicate that he would not address the issue of reclassification, saying that those arguments are “best made to a legislature,” Courthouse News Service reports. The judge also questioned the fairness of a $12.25 million settlement, saying the figure might be too low.

Dive Insight

Drivers who worked for Lyft since May 8, 2014, which are about 75% of all drivers, are subject to an arbitration provision with an express class action waiver, while all other drivers are subject to an arbitration provision without an express class action waiver, according to the settlement document. There was also the risk of the court declining to certify a class.

As reported, Lyft agreed to settle the lawsuit in January based on Lyft-supplied data that supported an estimate of $64 million as the most that drivers could claim for expense reimbursement. But last week it was revealed that Lyft's updated numbers through February 2016 apparently increase that number to to $126 million. Lyft disputed the accuracy of that number.

Chhabria so far has not ruled from the bench on the overall proposed settlement.