Uber Is Responsible for Rape by Driver, Jury Finds

A federal jury in Phoenix on Thursday ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a passenger who said one of its drivers had raped her, setting the stage for thousands of similar cases around the country.

The ride-hailing giant has long maintained that it is not liable for the misconduct of drivers on its platform, whom it classifies as independent contractors, not employees. But the jury rejected that defense, providing a road map for more than 3,000 pending sexual assault and sexual misconduct lawsuits that accuse the company of systemic safety failures.

The lawsuit was brought by Jaylynn Dean, who said her Uber driver raped her in November 2023 during a ride to her hotel from her boyfriend’s apartment in Tempe, Ariz.

“I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to other women,” Ms. Dean said on the witness stand. “I’m doing this for other women who thought the same thing I did, that they were making the safe and smart choice — but that, you know, there are risks of being assaulted.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/business/uber-safety-rape-verdict.html