Lawsuit Over Uber Driver Raping Passenger Set for Trial Jan. 13, 2026

First federal trials are now being prepared as both sides continue meeting for periodic Uber sexual assault settlement discussions, hoping to resolve the litigation without the need for juries.

A federal judge has scheduled the first in a series of bellwether trials to begin early next year, which will test claims that Uber drivers were able to sexually assault passengers due to a lack of adequate safety measures employed by the ridesharing app.

The popular service faces more than 2,800 Uber sexual assault lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system, each involving claims that passengers were sexually harassed, assaulted, or even kidnapped and raped by drivers who were never properly vetted or trained, due to Uber’s lax policies.

Most of the claims have been filed by former female passengers, who indicate that the rideshare service conducted the barest minimum background checks on its drivers, failed to train them in sexual harassment and assault awareness, failed to place surveillance cameras in vehicles, and failed to provide women with an option to select the gender of their driver.

All of the federal complaints have been consolidated into an Uber driver sexual assault multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of California, where U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. Another several hundred similar claims are also pending in California state court, where at least one claim has already gone before a jury.

Early in the federal litigation, Judge Breyer announced plans to hold a series of Uber passenger assault lawsuit bellwether trials, ordering the parties to prepare six claims for early trial dates which will allow them to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

The first case selected to go to trial was filed by Jaylynn Dean and was originally scheduled to begin on January 7, 2026. However, Judge Breyer entered a pretrial order (PDF) on November 18, announcing that the trial date has been rescheduled to January 13, in Phoenix, Arizona. The pretrial conference is scheduled for January 6, and voir dire will be held on January 8 and 9, if necessary.

The order called for parties to submit their proposed juror questionnaires by December 1. Meanwhile, the parties have previously agreed to continue to meet periodically for settlement talks, in hopes of reaching a resolution to the litigation without the need for trials.

California Uber Bellwether Trials

California state courts have already held the first Uber sexual assault lawsuit trial, which concluded in September. Jurors indicated Uber was negligent in failing to protect passengers, while also finding that negligence did not substantially contribute to the attack and was thus not liable for damages.

The muddled outcome places even more importance on the upcoming bellwether trials in both federal and California state court.

While the results of these early test cases will not be binding on other cases, they are being closely watched and are likely to have a significant impact on the ongoing negotiations. However, if no Uber sexual assault settlement agreement is reached after the bellwether trials, Judge Breyer is likely to begin remanding individual claims back to their originating districts for early trial dates.

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