The city of Chicago on Friday announced DoorDash will pay $18 million to settle its lawsuit that asserted the food delivery app used “deceptive” practices with restaurants, customers and delivery drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city filed lawsuits against DoorDash and Chicago-based Grubhub in 2021, after an investigation into the practices of third-party meal delivery companies. San Francisco-based DoorDash violated city regulations by listing restaurants on its platform without their consent, according to the complaint.
“This settlement demonstrates Chicago’s commitment to standing up for workers and small businesses while maintaining a fair and honest marketplace,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release. “Our hospitality industry is critical to our economy, and it works best when companies play by the rules, workers are treated fairly, and consumers see transparent pricing.”
The city’s complaint said DoorDash didn’t disclose upfront the full cost of its service to customers; imposed a “Chicago Fee” that was not a city-mandated charge; and didn’t disclose that menu prices on the app were often higher than restaurants’ own prices.
The city also said DoorDash misled consumers to believe they were tipping drivers directly when the company used tips to subsidize its payments to drivers.
A DoorDash spokesperson said Chicago’s complaints about its “dasher pay model” have been resolved for more than six years. Other issues, including listing of non-partner restaurants, have also been resolved, the company said.
“To be clear, this settlement isn’t an admission of wrongdoing, and the allegations in this lawsuit focus on business practices that no longer exist,” a DoorDash spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We’re glad to put this behind us.”
Terms of the settlement include:
- DoorDash will provide $4 million in credits to eligible Chicago users with active accounts on the platform. Credits can be applied to food delivery orders. DoorDash will make these credits automatically available to eligible Chicago users beginning Jan. 28, 2026.
- DoorDash will pay $3.25 million to restaurants listed on its platform without consent and not currently on the platform. Eligible restaurants will receive instructions from DoorDash on how to sign up for payment. DoorDash also agreed not to list Chicago restaurants without their consent in the future.
- DoorDash will provide $5.8 million in delivery commission and marketing credits to eligible restaurants currently on its platform. Eligible restaurants DoorDash initially listed without consent but have since joined the platform will receive an additional share of these credits. Eligible restaurants will receive more information from the company.
- DoorDash will pay $500,000 to drivers who were delivering food orders in Chicago as of September 2019, which was the last month DoorDash used tips to subsidize driver pay. These payments will supplement what eligible drivers already received through DoorDash’s settlement last year with the Illinois attorney general over the same practice. Eligible drivers will receive notification and payment from claims administrator Atticus Administration
- DoorDash will pay $4.5 million to the city to cover legal fees.
In November, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced an $11.25 million settlement with DoorDash to resolve his office’s complaint about delivery drivers’ tips.
