A federal jury in Phoenix just handed Uber a major legal defeat. The company must pay $8.5 million to a woman who accused her driver of raping her. This case is a big deal because the jury decided the driver acted as an “agent” for Uber. For years, Uber has fought off lawsuits by arguing that it isn’t responsible for what drivers do because they are independent contractors. This verdict changes the game by holding the company directly liable for a driver’s misconduct.
The victim, Jaylynn Dean, filed the lawsuit after a traumatic night in 2023. She had just passed a test for her flight attendant training and went out to celebrate. Knowing she was too intoxicated to drive, she called an Uber to get home safely. Instead of taking her to her destination, the driver pulled into a dark parking lot and raped her in the backseat.
During the trial, Uber pointed to the driver’s clean background check and high passenger ratings. They also highlighted the millions they spend on safety tech. However, Dean’s lawyers presented a bombshell piece of evidence. They showed that Uber’s own internal software flagged Dean as a “high risk” for a safety incident right before the driver picked her up. Uber never warned her. Her lawyers also argued that the company resisted putting cameras in cars because they feared it would slow down their growth.
The jury’s decision carries a bit of a contradiction. While they ordered Uber to pay the $8.5 million, they also ruled that the company’s safety systems weren’t technically “faulty” or negligent. Uber is using that detail to claim they acted responsibly and have already announced plans to appeal.
This was a “bellwether” trial, which acts as a test for 3,000 other similar cases waiting in federal court. If an appeals court upholds this ruling, it could set a massive precedent, forcing Uber to pay out billions in future settlements.
