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Uber found not responsible in the first US court trial regarding driver sexual assault allegations

A California jury ruled on Tuesday that Uber was not responsible for the sexual assault claimed by a woman who claimed her Uber driver attacked her during a ride. According to the attorney representing the plaintiff, Uber has no responsibility for the assault.

According to Celine Cutter one of her attorneys, at the conclusion of a three week civil trial, the jury found Uber negligent for the safety measures it took to protect an anonymous woman. However, they found that this negligence did not play a significant role in the woman's injury.

This was the first trial of over 500 lawsuits that were consolidated at a California state court. More than 2,500 similar lawsuits have also been consolidated in a California federal court.

In 2021, the woman who was known as Jessica C. in court, filed a lawsuit claiming that she had been assaulted in 2016 by an Uber driver. According to her lawyers, during the ride her Uber driver stopped on a side road and restraining her, groping her and kissing her.

William Levin, and Laurel Simes were the two lawyers who represented her in court. They did not respond immediately to a comment request.

Uber has been working for years to improve safety and will continue doing so in the future, according to a spokesperson.

In the case of the state court, the woman's suit was selected as the "bellwether". Bellwether trials can be used in litigation where there are many plaintiffs with similar claims to test and determine the value of those claims. The outcome of the bellwether trial can be used by judges to manage other cases or lawyers to inform settlement discussions.

The attorneys for the woman had requested that the jury award her between $175,000 to $1.2 million as compensatory damages per year, with higher figures being suggested for the years immediately following the assault. The attorneys did not give a figure for punitive damage.

Safety Practices in the Spotlight

Uber is accused of knowing that it had a problem when drivers attacked riders but withheld data about how many assaults occurred from the public. It also allegedly did nothing to resolve the problem.

Plaintiffs claim that Uber was aware that assigning female passengers to female drivers, or requiring dash cameras to record passenger and driver interactions would reduce violence but did not implement these programs.

Uber maintains that it is not liable for the criminal acts of drivers who connect with passengers and that background checks and disclosures regarding assaults are sufficient.

The lawsuits could reopen old wounds that Uber experienced in its early years. Uber was plagued by safety concerns, accusations of lax driver screening, and a company culture that critics claimed prioritized growth above protecting passengers.

Safety has become a major focus for the company in recent years. It has published U.S. Safety Reports detailing reported sexual assaults. Features such as ride verification in the app, audio and video recording of rides, and anomaly detection have been introduced.

Uber also announced the formation of a Safety Advisory Board, which is chaired by a former U.S. Uber has also announced the formation of a Safety Advisory Board, which is chaired by former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh.

Uber's reputation for safety has not improved despite these measures. Uber's latest safety report, which covered the period 2021-2022, stated that reports of serious sexual abuse on its platform had decreased by 44% compared to its first report from 2017-2018. Critics say that systemic risks still exist, despite the fact that thousands of cases are documented.

A U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee, following an August New York Times article on the subject, sent a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khorowshahi last week seeking information about the company's protocol for responding to sexual assaults and preventing them on its rides. (Reporting from Diana Novak Jones, in Chicago and Akash Shriram, in Bangalore; editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)

(source: Reuters)