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A federal jury in Phoenix has ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a driver in Arizona when she was 19.
The case was brought forward by Jaylynn Dean, who claimed that she was sexually assaulted in November 2023 by one of the ride-hailing company's drivers.
It was also reported that the case was the first bellwether trial in the federal multidistrict litigation involving thousands of other cases and spans several states.
On Thursday, February 5, the jury found that the driver was an agent of Uber, holding the company responsible for his actions.
They awarded Dean $8.5 million in compensatory damages but declined to award punitive damages.
In a statement, an Uber spokesperson noted that the jury rejected Dean's other claims, such as the company's negligence and compromised safety systems.
Sarah London, an attorney for Dean, said the verdict "validates the thousands of survivors who have come forward at great personal risk to demand accountability against Uber for its focus on profit over passenger safety."
Dean, an Oklahoma resident, sued Uber in 2023, one month after her alleged assault in Arizona. She said Uber was aware of a wave of sexual assaults committed by its drivers but had failed to take basic actions to improve the safety of its riders.
