A federal jury in Phoenix, Arizona, ordered Uber to pay US$ 8.5 million to a female passenger who said she was raped by a platform driver during a ride in 2023. The information is from The New York Times.
The decision, handed down on Thursday (the 5th), represents a significant test for the company’s legal strategy and comes amid more than 3,000 similar cases pending in the United States.
The case was brought by a young woman who reported being raped in November 2023, at age 19, during a ride requested in Tempe, Arizona. The jury rejected Uber’s main line of defense that the company could not be held liable for acts of drivers classified as independent contractors rather than employees.
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Although the amount of the indemnity was far below the US$144 million sought by the prosecution, the verdict is seen as a milestone for integrating a set of pilot cases used to evaluate, before a jury, the consistency of the allegations against the company. These actions are part of a federal litigation that brings together thousands of lawsuits for assault and sexual misconduct involving Uber rides.
During the trial, Uber was accused of negligence in its safety practices and of failures in the operation of the app. The jury, however, did not consider that the company’s conduct reached the level of “outrageous or oppressive,” which precluded the imposition of more severe punitive damages.
Internal documents presented in the case indicated that Uber had classified the victim’s ride as higher risk for a serious incident shortly before boarding, without alerting the passenger. An executive of the company testified in court that warnings of this kind would be “impracticable.”
Company reaction and next steps
In a statement, Uber spokesperson Matt Kallman said the decision confirms that the company “acted responsibly” and invested in safety, but noted that the company intends to appeal the verdict, alleging flaws in the instructions given to the jury.
The case unfolds in a context of mounting pressure on Uber from lawmakers, investors and regulators, who call for greater accountability from the company in light of a history of reports of sexual violence involving drivers on the platform.
The trial does not automatically create an obligation for the other cases in progress, but it is seen as a meaningful signal for future negotiations and for the company’s legal strategy.
