Uber ordered to pay $8.5M in driver misconduct case
What's the story
A US jury has ordered ride-hailing giant Uber to pay $8.5 million in damages after finding the company liable for a sexual assault case. The lawsuit was filed by Jaylynn Dean, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by an Uber driver when she was 19 years old. The case is the first of more than 3,000 similar lawsuits against Uber that have been consolidated in US federal court.
Verdict details
Jury awarded Dean $8.5m in compensatory damages
The jury in Phoenix, Arizona, found the driver to be an agent of Uber, thereby holding the company accountable for his actions. They awarded Dean $8.5 million in compensatory damages but did not award punitive damages. Dean's attorneys had initially sought over $140 million in damages from Uber for their alleged negligence and defective safety systems.
Appeal process
Uber to appeal against verdict
In response to the verdict, an Uber spokesperson said that the company would appeal. They also noted that the jury rejected Dean's other claims of negligence and defective safety systems on Uber's part. "This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety," the spokesperson added.
Case background
Dean sued Uber a month after alleged assault
Dean, who hails from Oklahoma, sued Uber in 2023, a month after her alleged assault in Arizona. She claimed that Uber knew about a string of sexual assaults by its drivers but had done nothing to protect its riders. On the other hand, Uber has maintained it shouldn't be liable for criminal acts committed by drivers using its platform.
Liability debate
Uber maintains it shouldn't be liable for drivers' criminal acts
Uber classifies its drivers as independent contractors, not employees. The company argues that even if they were employees, it wouldn't be liable for actions outside their scope of work. "He had no criminal history. None," Kim Bueno, an attorney for Uber, said about the driver during closing arguments. "Was this foreseeable to Uber? And the answer to that has to be no."
Incident details
What Dean's lawsuit alleged
Dean's lawsuit alleged that she was drunk when she booked an Uber driver from her boyfriend's place to her hotel. The driver asked her inappropriate questions during the ride before stopping and raping her. US District Judge Charles Breyer, who presides in San Francisco, oversaw Dean's case in Phoenix. Breyer is also overseeing all similar federal cases against Uber that have been consolidated in his court in San Francisco.