A Charlotte federal jury has determined that Uber must be held responsible for a driver’s inappropriate behavior toward a female passenger, awarding the woman $5,000 in damages on Monday.
The incident involved a driver who touched the passenger’s inner thigh without permission and asked if he could “keep her” with him as she exited the vehicle’s front seat, according to court proceedings.
Attorney Ellyn Hurd, representing the passenger, confirmed the jury’s decision in what serves as a test case among numerous sexual assault claims filed against the transportation company across various states.
This marks the third such case to reach trial. Earlier this year, an Arizona federal jury ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who alleged rape by a driver. Conversely, a California jury last year cleared Uber of liability in a separate assault allegation.
In response to the North Carolina verdict, Uber emphasized the relatively modest financial award and noted the jury classified the incident as battery rather than sexual assault.
“The jury’s award here should further bring these cases back to reality, as it represents a tiny fraction of previous demands,” Uber stated in an email, while indicating plans to appeal based on what they view as improper jury instructions regarding liability.
Hurd believes the outcome favors other plaintiffs, noting that Uber itself chose this North Carolina case as their preferred test scenario.
“This was a case that they thought going in that they were going to win,” Hurd explained. “They picked all the criteria — this is the case that they picked, that they wanted to try. And the jury believed the plaintiff and they lost.”
These legal challenges emerge from ongoing concerns about Uber’s safety practices, including thousands of reported sexual assault incidents involving both riders and drivers. The company has historically argued it bears no responsibility for driver misconduct since drivers work as independent contractors rather than employees.
However, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, who oversees this group of lawsuits, determined that Uber functions as a “common carrier” under North Carolina law, making it liable for driver actions. Breyer cited Uber’s public marketing as a transportation service and its operational control over rides and passenger safety.
Unlike Florida and Texas, which have specifically excluded rideshare companies from common carrier liability, North Carolina has not created such exemptions, the judge noted.
This ruling meant the jury only needed to determine whether the alleged incident occurred, Hurd said.
Uber maintains the driver denied any inappropriate contact and points out the passenger never filed a police report, with the company only learning of the allegations when the lawsuit was filed three years afterward.
Hurd countered that the absence of a police report doesn’t invalidate the claim. During the trial, which began Wednesday and concluded Monday, jurors heard testimony from the driver, the passenger, and friends who supported her account.
Judge Breyer, based in San Francisco’s Northern District of California, is scheduled to oversee two additional sexual assault test cases against Uber, with the next trial set for mid-September in San Francisco.
