On May 14, 2025, WLF filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to review two Ninth Circuit cases that imposed legal duties on Uber based on legal predictions—not precedent. One case involved a murdered Uber driver; the other, an assault by an Uber-driver impersonator. In both, plaintiffs had to show that Uber owed them a special duty. But neither California nor Washington’s highest court had recognized such a duty. In fact, both declined to rule when the issue was certified. Even so, the Ninth Circuit chose to determine the matter itself and found a special duty. WLF’s brief argues that this guessing game conflicts with Erie and threatens federalism. Federal courts, it contends, may not substitute speculation for settled law. WLF warns that guessing at state law harms litigants, muddles doctrine, and strips power from courts and officials. WLF asks the Court to restore the boundary between state and federal authority and reaffirm the principle that state law must come from the State’s own courts.
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