Law 360 reports (subscription required) that U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California has ruled that a class of Uber drivers cannot seek punitive damages in their lawsuit over the company’s imposition of a $1 “safe rides fee.” Judge Rogers ruled that the plaintiffs, having insisted throughout the case that their claims arise from a contract with Uber, cannot pursue punitive damages because Civil Code section 3294 permits punitive damages only in an action “for the breach of an obligation not arising from contract.”