PHOENIX (CN) — A whistleblower who claimed TikTok’s parent company ByteDance stole content and shared data with the Chinese Communist Party asked a Ninth Circuit panel Thursday to vacate a sanction order against him that resulted from a wrongful termination lawsuit.
A lower court dismissed Yintao Yu’s 2023 lawsuit after finding he fabricated evidence and lied under oath, ordering him to abide by the contracts he says he never signed and enter arbitration over his termination. Because Yu had voluntarily initiated arbitration days before the judge’s order, three Ninth Circuit judges said Thursday morning the case is likely moot.
“You don’t get out of arbitration no matter what we do, correct?” U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Hurwitz asked in a Phoenix courtroom Thursday morning.
“We do not get out of arbitration,” answered Tanner Laiche, representing Yu.
“And in arbitration all your underlying claims are being addressed?” asked Hurwitz, a Barack Obama appointee.
“Yes,” Laiche said.
“So tell me again,” Hurwitz went on. “If we rule in your favor, how is Mr. Yu any better off than he is today?”
Laiche said Yu needs the order to be vacated because as long as it stands, ByteDance can use it as leverage in a $6 million countersuit it plans to file against Yu claiming malicious prosecution. He said Yu is entitled to the annulment of any “collateral consequences” stemming from the order to enter arbitration because Yu already did so willingly.
Hurwitz said the order, which did not decide...
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