Settlement Reached for Some Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuits, Court Records Show
Editors carefully fact-check all Consumer Notice, LLC content for accuracy and quality.
Consumer Notice, LLC has a stringent fact-checking process. It starts with our strict sourcing guidelines.
We only gather information from credible sources. This includes peer-reviewed medical journals, reputable media outlets, government reports, court records and interviews with qualified experts.
An undisclosed number of Uber sexual assault lawsuits have reached a resolution, according to court records.
On Monday, newly filed documents showed that Uber deposited funds for “recent settlements” in the litigation. Thousands of cases remain pending over claims that the rideshare giant failed to protect passengers from assaults committed by drivers.
It’s unclear how many cases were resolved or how much Uber agreed to pay, but the news is a positive development for people who have filed lawsuits.
The move follows Uber’s first trial loss last month. The company was ordered to pay $8.5 million in a case involving a woman who said that she was raped by a driver.
Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuits Approach Key Stretch
The coming months could be critical for the future of Uber’s sexual assault lawsuits. The next federal trial is scheduled for April 20, but it could potentially move. Both sides are set to confirm the start date with the judge on Friday.
A state court trial is also slated to get underway in early May.
These trials are significant because they can impact other cases. Early trials are often referred to as bellwethers, since they help both sides better understand the strength of their arguments and what might happen if more cases go before juries.
Uber has already been dealt one loss. If those defeats continue in upcoming trials, the company could have an incentive to negotiate a global settlement for thousands of cases rather than risk taking more to trial.
More than 4,000 Uber sexual assault lawsuits are currently active in federal and state courts. Both sides continue to meet to discuss potential settlements for these cases.
In addition to the Uber litigation, other rideshare lawsuits are on the rise. In February, more than a dozen similar lawsuits involving Lyft were consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL).
This is where multiple lawsuits are placed before a single judge to coordinate proceedings, which can help streamline and speed up the process. There are currently 28 Lyft sexual assault lawsuits active in federal court, with nearly 2,000 cases also pending in state court.
The Lyft litigation is not as far along as Uber lawsuits. No cases have advanced to trial yet, but more lawsuits are being filed.
Rideshare Lawsuits Claim Uber, Lyft Failed to Keep Passengers Safe
The growing number of rideshare lawsuits claim that companies like Uber and Lyft prioritized growth and profits over protecting passengers.
Lawsuits argue that both companies failed to implement stringent background checks that could have flagged dangerous drivers.
In Uber’s most recent safety report, it noted that it recorded more than 2,700 incidents across the most serious categories of sexual assault in a two-year span. Lyft similarly logged more than 2,600 reports of sexual assault from 2020 to 2022.
