Uber indicators are seen on automobiles in Krakow, Poland on October 12, 2025.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Pictures
Uber on Thursday was ordered to pay $8.5 million to the plaintiff in an Arizona trial that’s the first lawsuit to be tried of 1000’s involving alleged sexual assault and misconduct by drivers on the ridesharing platform.
Within the lawsuit, Jaylynn Dean alleged that she was raped by her Uber driver in November 2023 whereas returning to her lodge.
The decision, which was delivered in a U.S. District Courtroom in Phoenix, discovered Uber chargeable for obvious company and lays the groundwork for about 3,000 related lawsuits nationwide which have been consolidated in federal court docket.
The jury didn’t discover Uber chargeable for negligence or design defects, and the corporate was not ordered to pay punitive damages.
“This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider security. We’ll proceed to place security on the coronary heart of every little thing we do,” a spokesperson for Uber wrote in a press release to CNBC.
Sarah London, a lawyer at Girard Sharp who’s representing Dean, known as the decision a “victory” for the plaintiff in a press release to CNBC and mentioned it “validates the 1000’s of survivors who’ve come ahead at nice private threat to demand accountability in opposition to Uber for its deal with revenue over passenger security.”
The corporate is planning to enchantment the choice.
The ride-hailing firm has mentioned it shouldn’t be held chargeable for the misconduct of drivers, who’re categorised as contractors on its platform.
Final yr, the New York Occasions reported that Uber acquired over 400,000 sexual assault and misconduct studies between 2017 and 2022, which was way over the corporate had disclosed. In a report final August, Uber mentioned severe sexual assault on the platform had fallen by 44%.
Uber has taken steps to handle security on the platform and applied new options, together with an in-app emergency button and pin verification. In July, Uber started piloting a program within the U.S. that permits girls drivers and riders to decide out of being paired with a person.
Ridesharing rival Lyft has additionally confronted lawsuits tied to sexual assault and harassment.
