Uber loses bid to stop US drivers' lawsuit

• Judge's ruling allows background checks cases to continue in federal court
• Taxi app company said Wednesday it would appeal arbitration ruling

Uber lost a bid to force arbitration in a lawsuit brought by its drivers, as a US judge ruled the smartphone-based taxi service's 2013 and 2014 employment contracts dealing with arbitration from were "unconscionable, and therefore unenforceable".

The ruling, from US district judge Edward Chen in San Francisco on Tuesday, allows the lawsuits over driver background checks to continue in federal court. Arbitration is generally viewed as a more friendly forum for corporate defendants.