A federal jury in Phoenix has found Uber to be liable for the sexual assault of one of its passengers, potentially setting a precedent for more than 3,000 similar cases consolidated in US federal court. As part of the verdict, Uber has been ordered to pay $8.5 million in damages to the victim, Jaylynn Dean, who said she was raped by her Uber driver during a ride to her hotel in November 2023.
The ride-hailing giant has long argued that it cannot be held responsible for the criminal actions of drivers on its platform, having faced years of scrutiny for numerous passenger safety concerns. According to Uber’s most recent US safety report, the company received 12,522 reports of people being sexually assaulted between 2017-2022, with almost 70 percent of reports being against drivers. In a statement reported by The New York Times, Uber spokesperson Matt Kallman said that Uber plans to appeal the verdict.
“This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety,” said Kallman. “We will continue to put safety at the heart of everything we do.”
Dean’s case was overseen by US district judge Charles Breyer, who is also managing all of the similar, centralized federal lawsuits against Uber. While the verdict is not binding on the other cases, as the first, it could serve as a bellwether for all court proceedings that follow.
