A woman is suing Uber Technologies Inc., alleging a driver for the ride-hailing company sexually harassed and battered her during a ride home from a friend’s residence in 2022.
The plaintiff is identified only as Jane Doe in the Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit that alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress, strict liability, common-carrier negligence, negligent hiring, supervision and retention, general negligence, negligent failure to warn, sexual assault and battery and false imprisonment.
Also named as a defendant is Rasier LLC, the arm of Uber that typically deals with airport agreements, government licenses and class-action lawsuits. Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. An Uber representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the complaint brought Wednesday.
Uber markets itself as a company that provides safe rides while specifically targeting young women too drunk to drive for its transportation services, the suit states.
While Uber employs a vast network of drivers, those drivers have been given inadequate training regarding sexual assault, sexual relations, sensitivity and customer relations, according to the suit, which further alleges Uber does inadequate driver background checks.
Doe placed an order through the Uber app on May 8, 2022 for a ride home from a friend’s home and along the way, the driver began talking with her before reaching into the back seat and touching her on one hand and one knee, the suit states.
When they reached Doe’s home, the driver jumped into the backseat and began straddling the plaintiff’s legs, grabbing the left side of her head as well as her breasts and kissing her, the suit alleges.
“Shocked, plaintiff desperately tried to push the Uber driver off of her,” the suit states, adding that the undeterred driver then committed a lewd act.
Doe was unable to escape through a locked door and at first as the driver continued beckoning her to engage in unwanted conduct, but she finally got out and left, the suit states. However, days later the driver reached out to Doe via WhatsApp, to which she did not respond, the suit states.
The alleged sexual assault left Doe feeling humiliated, degraded and violated and also robbed the plaintiff of her dignity and personal safety, the suit states.