Tuesday, August 18, 2026
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Uber Accused of Insouciance as to Rapes of Passengers, Resulting in Attack on Plaintiff
Strict Liability Cause of Action Alleged Over Inadequacies of Ridesharing App
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A woman has brought a lawsuit against Uber claiming she was raped by one of its drivers, seeking to impute blame to the San Francisco-based ride-share company pursuant to her allegation that it has long known of rampant sexual assaults yet has failed to take any meaningful steps to abate them.
There is included in the complaint, filed Friday in San Francisco Superior Court, a cause of action alleging strict products liability based on the Under ridesharing app—used to pair a person desiring of a ride with a driver—lacking necessary safety features.
The action was filed on behalf of a woman identified only as “JLG 1018.” Signing the complaint was Russell W. Lewis, a member of the State Bar of California, based in Houston and Nashville.
Allegations of Pleading
The pleading alleges, with paragraph numbering omitted:
“Uber is a transportation company…that, beginning in 2009, established an application-based transportation system that has been implemented around the world, including the entire United States.
“As early as 2014, Uber knew Uber drivers were sexually assaulting and raping passengers.
“In the nine years since then, Uber drivers have continued to sexually assault, harass, kidnap, physically assault, stalk, and/or rape people who use Uber. The complaints made to Uber over the years in addition to the criminal investigations by law enforcement show that Uber has extensive knowledge regarding Uber’s drivers sexually abusing Uber passengers. However, Uber has not made substantial changes in company policy, hiring practices, or application (‘app’) settings, among other potential changes, to increase safety for its passengers.
“Although Uber has recently released public information highlighting the deeply rooted issue of sexual assault prevalent in the company, these reports have not led to adequate action taken by Uber. Uber has refused to make improvements to their hiring procedures or implement software updates that could deter Uber’s drivers from sexually assaulting riders.”
In 2016, Uber settled for $5 million a class action alleging that it fraudulently marketed its service by exaggerating its security screening of drivers. It has faced a myriad of lawsuits over sexual misconduct allegations.
Defect in Product
The action filed Friday, in asserting strict products liability, says:
“The Uber App does not have safety precautions such as enhanced electronic monitoring systems, ongoing monitoring of Uber drivers and rides through available technology including cameras and GPS; a warning system for when a driver significantly deviates from the intended route or prematurely terminates a ride, or a system for checking in with and verifying a passenger’s safety when a driver prematurely terminates a ride or significantly deviates from the intended route.
“The Uber App does not communicate to Plaintiff a true awareness of the lack of safety in using Uber.
“These Uber App design flaws were a substantial factor in causing harm suffered by Plaintiff, including being sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by Uber Driver, which humiliated, degraded, violated, and robbed Plaintiff of her dignity and personal safety. The depraved attack on Plaintiff caused Plaintiff to suffer psychological harm from which Plaintiff may never fully recover.”
In seeking punitive damages, the complaint alleges:
“Prioritizing profits over passenger safety, Uber acted, and continues to act, recklessly and in knowing, conscious disregard of the safety of its passengers, including that of Plaintiff, and the public.”
The case is JLG 1018 v. Uber Technologies, Inc., CGC-26-639916.
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