The ride-services company is contesting Waymo’s accusation that former Waymo engineer and current Uber executive Anthony Levandowski took technical secrets from Waymo and used them to help Uber’s self-driving car development.

If it were proven that Levandowski and Uber conspired in taking the information, that could have dire consequences for Uber, say legal and ride-hailing industry experts. Uber’s $68 billion valuation is propped up in part by investors’ belief it will be a dominant player in the emerging business of self-driving cars.

The man at the heart of this dispute, Anthony Levandowski, was given $250 million worth of Uber stock the day after he left Google’s self-driving program. While suspicious, that in itself doesn’t mean Uber is guilty of anything. Google also says that Levandowski stole 14,000 confidential documents before leaving the company. That one could hurt.