In September 2018, Eric Alexander filed suit against Rachel Whetstone, alleging that she had violated a reciprocal non-disparagement clause in her severance agreement with Uber. In particular, Alexander alleged that Whetstone spread false, misleading, and disparaging information about Alexander’s response to the rape in India — which he says were the cause of his termination from Uber. Alexander also accused Whetstone of making a variety of racist comments, claimed that Whetstone incorrectly asserted he stole the rape victim’s medical file and bribed Indian authorities to get that file, and claimed that Whetstone said she would “ruin [his] career” by telling investigator Eric Holder about supposed misconduct. Alexander argued that these statements were false and defamatory.
Whetstone argued, among other things, that a severance agreement required all disputes to be resolved through arbitration, not litigation. The court granted her motion to compel arbitration. In February 2023, the court entered judgment for Whetstone.