[twblalock]

It's material to the extent that the judge does not trust the guy. There are other examples of dishonesty in the ruling too. It seems like he may have lied to GrubHub and intentionally got himself hired and then fired as a pretext for a lawsuit. Because he was provably dishonest about several important things, nothing he says can be trusted, including statements he makes about his interactions with GrubHub.

The guy was working other jobs, including for other gig delivery companies, at the same time he was delivering for GrubHub. It was clearly a flexible arrangement for him, and GrubHub was not able to control his activities much or prevent him from working for other companies. That's probably what decided the case.

If you were a lawyer looking for a sympathetic plaintiff to fight for employee status at gig economy companies, this guy is a pretty bad choice. First of all, he can't be trusted. Even worse, he was clearly benefitting from the gig economy in exactly the way that gig-economy proponents say people benefit -- flexible hours, the ability to pursue other work, etc.