Fourth Uber Driver Sex Assault Lawsuit Bellwether Trial Set for Oct. 2026

Results of early Uber driver sexual assault bellwether trials have not yet provided clear indication of how juries may decide similar claims throughout the litigation.

The U.S. District Judge overseeing thousands of Uber driver sex assault lawsuits pending in the federal court system has approved a jointly proposed scheduling order that would have the fourth bellwether trial begin in early October 2026.

The rideshare service is currently in the process of facing a handful of representative claims from the more than 3,500 women who say they were sexually assaulted by Uber drivers. Each of the claims contains similar allegations, that the women were groped, molested, harassed, raped and sometimes kidnapped by drivers due to the company’s lack of adequate safety measures.

Plaintiffs say that Uber should have employed stronger background checks, included sexual harassment training requirements for drivers, placed surveillance cameras in vehicles, and should have provided an option allowing passengers to choose the gender of their driver.

Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuit MDL

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, of the Northern District of California, was appointed in October 2023 to oversee coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings as part of the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL).

That process includes a series of early “bellwether” trials intended to test the evidence and arguments presented by both sides before juries, while identifying legal and factual issues that may recur throughout the litigation.

Although several trials have already taken place in state and federal courts, the mixed results have not provided plaintiffs or defendants with a clear indication of how juries are likely to decide similar claims. That uncertainty has increased the significance of the next two scheduled trials.

The very first Uber sex assault lawsuit trial was held in California state court in September 2025. While the jury determined that Uber was negligent in failing to protect its passengers, they also ruled that the company was not liable for the attack on the plaintiff, resulting in no damages being awarded.

However, the first federal trial was held in February, and ended very differently, with an $8.5 million verdict against the rideshare service. In that case, the jury determined Uber’s drivers are agents of the company under common carrier laws, making the company liable for their actions. The second federal trial ended in only a $5,000 verdict in favor of Briana Mensing, who never stated a dollar amount for damages and testified during trial that she wanted an apology from Uber more than she wanted money and for the company to change its ways.

Upcoming Uber Sex Assault Bellwether Trials

The third federal Uber bellwether trial is scheduled to begin on September 14. It involves claims that a woman identified only as B.L. was raped in the backseat of a driver’s vehicle in August 2022 after he responded to her call for a ride. According to the lawsuit, Uber later rehired the driver, despite him having a warrant out for his arrest.

On July 13, Judge Breyer issued a court order (PDF) granting approval to a proposed schedule for the fourth federal bellwether trial submitted jointly by both sides. It calls for the trial to begin on October 5, 2026.

The order also sets a number of key dates toward preparing the fourth complaint for trial, but does not identify which, if any, case has been selected.

The schedule calls for the close of expert discovery by September 2, with motions for summary judgment due two days later on September 4. The order also calls for any Daubert motions by September 8, with jury instructions and a joint pretrial order by September 22. The last pretrial conference will be held on September 25, with jury selection on September 30.

While the outcomes of these trials will not be binding on any other claims at the federal or state level, they serve as examples to attorneys on both sides as to how they would likely fare if thousands of trials were actually held throughout the country. In this way, the results can help in negotiations toward reaching a settlement agreement.

However, no such pattern has solidly shown itself in the previous bellwether trials. If Uber driver sex assault lawyers cannot reach a settlement agreement or resolve the litigation in some other way, Judge Breyer may begin remanding individual cases back to federal court districts to be prepared for individual trials.

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