Passenger in Uber Sexual Assault Trial Tells Jury She Feared Driver Knowing Her Address

Judge determined Uber cannot escape its responsibilities as a common carrier despite the company’s claims it is just an app.

The second federal bellwether trial over claims that Uber failed to protect passengers from driver sexual assaults is now underway in North Carolina, with testimony from a woman who says she fled the vehicle after being violently groped in 2019 and has since lived in constant fear, knowing the driver was aware of her home address.

The lawsuit was filed by Brianna Mensing, who alleges a driver grabbed her thigh as she was being dropped off at home in an apparent attempt to keep her in the car. While the driver claims the contact was minimal, Mensing demonstrated to the jury that it was a forceful grab intended to restrain her.

Mensing indicates she was “grossed out” and ran from the vehicle, making her one of more than 3,300 former passengers, nearly all women, who have filed Uber driver sexual assault lawsuits against the rideshare service. Each complaint alleges that the company failed to provide adequate safety measures for passengers, such as thorough background checks, in-vehicle surveillance cameras, and options to select the gender of the driver, as well as failing to provide the drivers with adequate sexual harassment training.

After Mensing and other women began to come forward with claims, all federal Uber sexual assault lawsuits were consolidated in the Northern District of California in October 2023 under U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Early in the litigation, Judge Breyer ordered the parties to prepare a series of six claims, designed to be representative of the litigation as a whole, to serve as early test cases. These “bellwether” trials will give the parties an opportunity to see how juries weigh the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments, evidence and testimony.

The first bellwether trial ended in February in Arizona with an $8.5 million verdict for the plaintiff, Jaylynn Dean, who indicated an Uber driver raped her in November 2023. While the jury determined the company was not liable for failing to provide adequate safety measures, it still found the company responsible for the actions of the driver, concluding he was serving as an agent of the company under common carrier laws.

Uber has tried to fight the “common carrier” label, describing itself as an intermediary app that just links passengers to drivers, but Judge Breyer has rejected that argument, and said the same standard of common carrier will apply in the current trial underway.

Originally only identified as WHB 823 in her original lawsuit, Mensing testified before the jury this week as the trial got underway, describing her alleged assault to the jury on Wednesday. The driver, who has never faced charges for the assault, has said it never happened. His video testimony is expected to be played at the trial on a later date. Uber also claims Mensing’s memory of the event is inaccurate.

Uber attorneys argued Mensing was after money, but Mensing testified that she wants to hold Uber accountable and prevent what happened to her from continuing to happen to other women who use the service.

She indicated she was terrified after the assault, because, as in all similar cases, the driver knew where she lived and she feared him coming back to assault her again or seek revenge for her claims. Mensing says she also feared people would not believe her due to a previous history of substance abuse, something Uber is already using to try to discredit her testimony.

The trial is expected to last at least into early next week before juries begin their deliberations. The outcome of this second bellwether trial is being closely watched to see if the plaintiff victory in Arizona is repeated. In addition, a California state trial is also currently underway involving similar claims.

It is hoped that the results of these trials will lead to an Uber driver sexual assault lawsuit settlement agreement or other resolution. If there is no such agreement or the cases remain other wise unresolved after the bellwether trials, Judge Breyer will likely begin remanding the claims back to their original district courts for individual trial dates.