A federal jury in Phoenix ordered Uber on Thursday to pay $8.5 million after discovering it liable in a lawsuit introduced by a girl who stated she was sexually assaulted by a driver, a verdict that might affect hundreds of comparable circumstances in opposition to the ride-hailing firm.
The case, introduced by plaintiff Jaylynn Dean, was the primary trial – referred to as a “bellwether” – of greater than 3,000 related lawsuits in opposition to Uber which were consolidated in federal courtroom. Bellwether trials are used to check authorized theories and assist gauge the worth of claims for attainable settlements.
The jury discovered that the driving force was an agent of Uber, so the corporate was liable for his actions. They awarded Dean $8.5 million in compensatory damages however declined to award punitive damages. Attorneys for Dean had sought greater than $140 million in damages.
In an announcement, an Uber spokesperson famous that the jury rejected Dean’s different claims, that the corporate was negligent or that its security programs have been faulty, including that the corporate plans to attraction. “This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider security,” the spokesperson stated.
Sarah London, an lawyer for Dean, stated the decision “validates the hundreds of survivors who’ve come ahead at nice private danger to demand accountability in opposition to Uber for its concentrate on revenue over passenger security.”
Uber shares fell 0.5% in prolonged buying and selling following announcement of the decision.
Dean, an Oklahoma resident, sued Uber in 2023, one month after her alleged assault in Arizona. She stated Uber was conscious of a wave of sexual assaults dedicated by its drivers, however had did not take primary actions to enhance the protection of its riders. Such assertions have lengthy dogged the corporate, drawing headlines and congressional scrutiny.
Alexandra Walsh, an lawyer for Dean, stated through the trial’s closing arguments that Uber had marketed itself as a protected choice for ladies touring at night time, significantly if they’d been ingesting.
“Girls understand it’s a harmful world. We all know concerning the danger of sexual assault,” Walsh stated. “They made us consider that this was a spot that was protected from that.”
Uber says not liable for driver actions
Uber, which has confronted quite a few security controversies, together with allegations of lax driver vetting and a tradition critics stated prioritized development over passenger safety, has argued that it shouldn’t be held accountable for legal conduct by drivers who use its platform, saying that its background checks and disclosures about assaults are adequate.
The corporate maintains that its drivers are unbiased contractors slightly than workers, and that no matter their classification it can’t be liable for actions that fall outdoors the scope of what may moderately be thought of their duties.
“He had no legal historical past. None,” Kim Bueno, an lawyer for Uber, stated of the driving force throughout closing arguments, noting that he had 10,000 journeys on the app and a virtually excellent score from riders. “Was this foreseeable to Uber? And the reply to that needs to be no.”
Dean’s lawsuit stated she was intoxicated when she employed an Uber driver to take her from her boyfriend’s dwelling to her resort.
The motive force requested her harassing questions on the journey earlier than stopping the automotive and raping her, Dean alleged within the lawsuit.
US District Choose Charles Breyer, who usually sits on the bench in San Francisco, oversaw Dean’s case in Phoenix. Breyer is managing the entire related federal circumstances in opposition to Uber, which have been centralized in his courtroom in San Francisco.
The corporate can also be dealing with greater than 500 circumstances in California state courtroom. In the one a kind of circumstances to go to trial to date, a jury in September sided with Uber. The jury discovered that whereas the corporate had been negligent with its security measures, that negligence was not a considerable think about inflicting the girl’s hurt.
Uber rival Lyft is dealing with related lawsuits in each state and federal courtroom, though there is no such thing as a coordinated federal litigation for these claims. Shares of Lyft have been down 1% after the decision.
