Uber Ordered to Pay $8.5Million in Landmark Sexual Assault Case

A federal jury in Phoenix on Thursday has ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a driver in Arizona when she was 19. The verdict could have implications for thousands of similar cases against the ride-hailing company.

 

The three-week trial focused on Jaylynn Dean, who alleged the assault occurred in November 2023. This was the first bellwether trial in the federal multidistrict litigation, which consolidates thousands of cases from several states. Bellwether trials are designed to test legal theories and help gauge the potential value of claims for settlement purposes.

 

After three days of deliberation, nine jurors returned their verdict on February 5 in US District Court. They were asked to determine whether Uber, through its branding and actions, led Dean to reasonably believe her driver was acting on the company’s behalf — a legal principle known as "apparent agency." The jury found Uber liable under this theory.

 

Dean’s attorneys had sought $24 million in compensatory damages and $120 million in punitive damages. The jury awarded only a fraction of this amount and declined to grant punitive damages.

 

According to the lawsuit, Dean, an Oklahoma resident, was intoxicated when she booked an Uber from her boyfriend’s home to her hotel. During the ride, the driver allegedly harassed her before stopping the car and assaulting her. Dean filed the lawsuit one month after the alleged incident, claiming Uber was aware of multiple assaults by its drivers but had failed to implement basic safety measures for riders.

 

Dean’s legal team described the verdict as a significant step in holding Uber accountable, while noting that broader legal issues remain unresolved.

 

Sarah London, one of Dean’s attorneys and a co-lead in the multidistrict litigation, said the verdict "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."

 

Thousands of cases remain pending, and London said future verdicts will help determine whether justice is served. "The jury heard extensive evidence about Uber’s practices and recognised that Uber is responsible for the conduct of its drivers," she added.

Uber spokesperson Andrew Hasbun said the verdict showed the jury rejected the most serious claims, noting that the award was "far below what was sought" and did not include punitive damages. "This verdict affirms that Uber acted responsibly and has invested meaningfully in rider safety," he said. "We will continue to put safety at the heart of everything we do."

 

During the trial, Uber’s attorneys argued that the assault was an unforeseeable criminal act committed by an independent contractor who had passed background checks, completed safety training, and completed thousands of trips without incident. They urged jurors to focus solely on "this driver, this rider and this trip," rather than national statistics or other lawsuits.

 

Dean’s lawyers countered that Uber knew certain riders — especially women travelling alone at night after drinking — were at higher risk. They pointed to Uber’s internal safety data and algorithms, which flagged Dean’s trip as high risk but did not trigger any warnings or intervention. They also argued that Uber’s branding, control over rides, and safety messaging encouraged riders to trust drivers as representatives of the company, forming the basis for the apparent-agency claim. Jurors were instructed to evaluate three claims separately: negligence, defective design of the Uber app, and apparent agency.

 

US District Judge Charles Breyer, who normally sits in San Francisco, oversaw the case in Phoenix. He manages all similar federal cases against Uber, which have been centralised in his court in San Francisco.

 

Uber also faces more than 500 cases in California state courts. In the only trial so far, a jury found the company negligent but concluded the negligence was not a substantial factor in causing harm. The next federal case is expected to begin in April in North Carolina.

 

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