A federal jury in Arizona is weighing whether Uber should pay more than $144 million in damages after a 19-year-old passenger alleged she was raped by a rideshare driver, closing out the first bellwether trial in nationwide litigation over the company’s responsibility for assaults committed during trips arranged through its app.
During closing arguments Tuesday, the woman’s attorney asked jurors to award $24 million in compensatory damages for emotional harm and $120.2 million in punitive damages. Counsel argued the company prioritized growth and marketing over passenger protection and failed to alert riders to known risks.
“They knew it was foreseeable and preventable, but they always chose profit over protection, prevention and safety,” attorney Deobrah Chang told jurors.
Chang said a large punitive award would influence Uber’s conduct and the wider rideshare market. “That is something that will dictate their behavior in the future, and the rideshare industry’s,” she said. “That is how important punitive damages are.”
Uber’s lawyers rejected the claims, arguing the company acted responsibly and that the alleged assault could not have been predicted. “Uber did act with reasonable care,” said Kim Bueno of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. “What happened in that car was not foreseeable. There is not a defective design of this app.”
Defense counsel highlighted background checks, safety programs and more than $1.3 billion spent on prevention measures. The company also maintains that drivers are independent contractors and that liability requires proof Uber’s actions directly caused the harm.
Plaintiff attorneys pointed to internal safety data and driver history, saying the company’s dispatch tools flagged concerns yet still matched the driver with a lone passenger late at night. “They sent him anyway, and they didn’t warn her,” said Sarah London of Girard Sharp LLP.
The lawsuit stems from a December 2023 ride in Tempe, Arizona. The plaintiff reported the incident to Uber and police shortly after it occurred. The driver disputes the allegation and says the encounter was consensual.
U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, overseeing the multidistrict litigation, instructed jurors that they must decide whether the risk was foreseeable and whether Uber’s conduct caused the injury. Deliberations began Tuesday, with another bellwether trial scheduled for April in North Carolina.
The case is part of broader federal proceedings consolidating similar claims against Uber across the country
