PHOENIX — A federal jury in Phoenix on Thursday, Feb. 5, 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, a verdict that could influence thousands of similar cases against the ride-hailing company.
The three-week trial centered on Jaylynn Dean, who said the sexual assault happened in November 2023. The case was the first bellwether trial in the federal multidistrict litigation involving thousands of other cases and spans several states. Bellwether trials are used to test legal theories and help gauge the value of claims for possible settlements.
After three days of deliberations, nine jurors returned their verdict on Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court.
Jurors were asked to decide whether Uber, through its branding and actions, led Dean to reasonably believe her driver was acting on Uber’s behalf — even though drivers are classified as independent contractors. It’s a legal theory known as “apparent agency.” Jurors found that Uber was liable for apparent agency.
Dean’s attorneys had also sought $24 million in compensatory damages and $120 million in punitive damages. Jurors ultimately awarded a fraction of what was asked and declined to award any punitive damages.
Lawyer: ‘Uber is responsible for the conduct of its drivers’
Dean’s lawsuit said she was intoxicated when she hired an Uber driver to take her from her boyfriend’s home to her hotel. The driver asked her harassing questions on the ride before stopping the car and raping her, Dean alleged in the lawsuit.
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. Such assertions have long dogged the company, drawing headlines and congressional scrutiny.
Dean’s attorneys said the verdict marked an important step in holding Uber accountable, while acknowledging that broader legal questions remain unresolved.
Sarah London, an attorney for Dean and a co-lead in the multidistrict litigation, said in an email that 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.”
Thousands of cases remain pending, and London said that future verdicts will define whether justice was served.
“The jury heard extensive evidence about Uber’s practices and recognized that Uber is responsible for the conduct of its drivers,” she said.
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Uber’s shares dipped 1.5% in after-hours trading. Shares of rival Lyft, which is facing lawsuits making similar claims, were down 1.8%.
Uber cases
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Dean’s attorneys countered that Uber knew certain riders — particularly women traveling alone at night after drinking — faced heightened risks. They pointed to Uber’s internal safety data and algorithms, which they said flagged Dean’s trip as higher risk before it began but did not trigger warnings or intervention.
They also argued that Uber’s branding, control over rides, and safety messaging encouraged riders to trust drivers as representatives of the company, forming the basis for the apparent-agency claim. Against that backdrop, jurors were instructed to evaluate three claims separately: negligence, defective design of the Uber app, and apparent agency.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who normally sits on the bench in San Francisco, oversaw Dean’s case in Phoenix. Breyer is managing all of the similar federal cases against Uber, which have been centralized in his court in San Francisco.
The company is also facing more than 500 cases in the California state court. In the only one of those cases to go to trial so far, a jury in September sided with Uber. The jury found that while the company had been negligent with its safety measures, that negligence was not a substantial factor in causing the woman’s harm.
The next case to go to trial is expected to start in April in North Carolina.
Full Story: USAToday February 5 2026
