Bellwether Uber Sexual Assault Trial Begins in Phoenix

The first jury trial out of thousands of consolidated sexual assault lawsuits against Uber began this week in Phoenix, marking a pivotal moment in nationwide litigation over the company’s safety practices. Jurors will decide whether Uber failed to protect a passenger from being raped by her driver, a verdict that could shape the outcome of more than 3,000 similar claims filed across the country, Couthouse News Service reported today.

The case involves a woman who says she was raped by her Uber driver while intoxicated in November 2023 after calling for a ride in Arizona. Her legal team argues that Uber has known for years that sexual assaults by drivers were a widespread problem but chose not to implement meaningful protections that could have prevented the attack.

According to a plaintiff’s attorney, Uber became aware as early as 2014 that sexual assaults were occurring at alarming rates on its platform. Despite internal acknowledgment of the issue, the company allegedly failed to adopt measures such as mandatory in vehicle cameras, stronger background checks, and stricter oversight of high risk drivers. The attorney told jurors that Uber prioritized growth and market dominance over passenger safety while continuing to market itself as a safer alternative for women who had been drinking.

Jurors were shown Uber advertisements and social media content encouraging women to use the service late at night instead of driving, messaging that allegedly created a false sense of security. The plaintiff’s attorney argued that Uber knew it was not doing enough to keep women safe, yet continued to promote the platform as a safe option for intoxicated riders.

The plaintiff claims Uber internally tracked risk factors that could indicate dangerous drivers, including patterns such as repeatedly accepting female passengers, driving late at night, and declining optional dashboard cameras. Phoenix was described as one of the highest risk cities for sexual assault in Uber rides, yet those risk indicators were allegedly ignored rather than investigated.

Uber denies the allegations and argues it has significantly improved safety over the past decade. A defense attorney told the jury that the company has implemented repeated background checks, real time identity verification for drivers, emergency assistance buttons for riders, and live safety agents available during trips. Uber also says it has removed more than 185,000 drivers for misconduct based on its safety systems.

The plaintiff alleges that the driver who assaulted her turned off the GPS during the ride to avoid detection and that Uber failed to properly vet him before allowing him to drive. Her legal team says the company conducted only a limited background check and failed to review overseas history, references, fingerprints, or social media. They also allege prior complaints about the driver were ignored.

Uber disputes those claims and says the driver had no credible history of sexual misconduct and had received thousands of high ratings from passengers. The company also argues that there was no indication that more extensive background checks would have revealed any criminal history.

The driver has told police that the sexual encounter was consensual. Uber’s defense suggested the plaintiff later changed her account, a claim that was challenged by her legal team during opening statements.

This trial is the first of six bellwether cases selected from thousands of federal Uber sexual assault lawsuits consolidated in a multidistrict litigation in California. Bellwether trials are used to test how juries respond to evidence and testimony, often influencing settlement negotiations across all cases.

Hundreds of additional claims are also pending in California state courts. In the first state court trial, jurors found Uber negligent but ruled that the negligence did not directly cause the assault, sparing the company from liability in that case. The jury in the Phoenix trial will not hear about those prior proceedings.

The trial is expected to last approximately three weeks, attorneys predict.