Uber held liable, ordered to pay $8.5 million in driver rape suit

Uber on Thursday was ordered to pay $8.5 million to the plaintiff in an Arizona trial that is the first lawsuit to be tried of thousands involving alleged sexual assault and misconduct by drivers on the ridesharing platform.

In the lawsuit, Jaylynn Dean alleged that she was raped by her Uber driver in November 2023 while returning to her hotel.

The verdict, which was delivered in a U.S. District Court in Phoenix, found Uber liable for apparent agency and lays the groundwork for about 3,000 similar lawsuits nationwide that have been consolidated in federal court.

The jury did not find Uber liable for negligence or design defects, and the company was not ordered to pay punitive damages.

“This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety. We will continue to put safety at the heart of everything we do,” a spokesperson for Uber wrote in a statement to CNBC.

Sarah London, a lawyer at Girard Sharp who is representing Dean, called the verdict a “victory” for the plaintiff in a statement to CNBC and said it “validates the thousands of survivors who have come forward at great personal risk to demand accountability against Uber for its focus on profit over passenger safety.”

The company is planning to appeal the decision.

The ride-hailing company has said it should not be held liable for the misconduct of drivers, who are classified as contractors on its platform.

Last year, the New York Times reported that Uber received over 400,000 sexual assault and misconduct reports between 2017 and 2022, which was far more than the company had disclosed. In a report last August, Uber said serious sexual assault on the platform had fallen by 44%.

Uber has taken steps to address safety on the platform and implemented new features, including an in-app emergency button and pin verification. In July, Uber began piloting a program in the U.S. that allows women drivers and riders to opt out of being paired with a man.

Ridesharing rival Lyft has also faced lawsuits tied to sexual assault and harassment.