Uber Faces Investor Lawsuit Over Failure To Stop Driver Sexual Assaults

Thousands of Uber sexual assault lawsuits allege passengers were assaulted by drivers after the company failed to implement adequate safety protections.

An Uber shareholder has filed a derivative lawsuit alleging the company’s executives and directors failed to implement safety measures that could have prevented thousands of passenger sexual assaults while misleading investors about the platform’s commitment to rider safety.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit, on behalf of Uber Technologies Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on June 22. It names Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as well as current and former directors and officers as defendants.

Unlike other Uber sexual assault lawsuits, the filing is not seeking compensation for individual assault victims. Rather, it alleges Uber’s leadership breached their fiduciary duties by exposing the company to billions of dollars in legal liability through years of inadequate safety oversight.

Uber Sexual Assault Allegations

In recent years, a number of Uber sexual assault lawsuits have been filed in courts across the country by passengers who allege they were sexually harassed, assaulted, raped or abducted after arranging rides through the platform. The complaints generally contend that Uber failed to implement reasonable safeguards and screening procedures that could have prevented dangerous drivers from accessing passengers.

Many of the lawsuits claim those safeguards should have included more comprehensive background checks, mandatory sexual misconduct prevention training, in-vehicle surveillance and app features that allowed riders to request a driver of a specific gender.

Uber Shareholder Lawsuit

According to the lawsuit, Uber’s executives repeatedly chose not to implement proven safety measures, including in-car cameras and other protections, because doing so could undermine the company’s position that its drivers are independent contractors instead of employees.

Plaintiffs argue those decisions have resulted in thousands of lawsuits by passengers who claim they were sexually assaulted by Uber drivers, as well as government investigations and regulatory actions that have severely damaged the company’s reputation and financial interests.

The complaint traces Uber’s safety problems back more than a decade, alleging the company maintained a corporate culture that prioritized rapid growth and cost cutting over regulatory compliance and passenger protection.

While Khosrowshahi took over as CEO in 2017 following the departure of co-founder Travis Kalanick, the lawsuit claims the company continued many of the same practices, merely changing its public messaging while failing to adopt meaningful safety reforms.

Plaintiffs allege Uber internally tracked more than 400,000 reports of sexual assault or misconduct between 2017 and 2022. However, the company publicly disclosed only 12,522 incidents it classified as “serious” sexual assaults, which shareholders claim concealed the true scope of the problem and misled investors.

Uber Investor Concerns

The complaint also points to recent government investigations into Uber’s handling of passenger safety. It further cites separate litigation over alleged disability discrimination and deceptive enrollment practices involving the Uber One subscription program, arguing that these controversies reflect broader failures in corporate oversight and risk management.

Despite those developments, plaintiffs allege Uber’s annual proxy statements repeatedly assured investors that the board actively monitored safety risks and maintained strong oversight of compliance with applicable laws.

The lawsuit contends those statements were materially misleading because directors allegedly knew the company’s safety practices remained inadequate while continuing to approve executive compensation tied in part to safety performance.

“All 10 members of the Board have received reports concerning Uber’s (1) consumer protection violations in general, and pervasive safety practices in particular; and (2) false and misleading statements in violation of Federal and state securities laws. However, the Director Defendants ignored these red flags and did not conduct any more extensive oversight, or otherwise remedy or try to prevent this wrongdoing.”

— Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit v. Dara Khosrowshahi et al.

Rather than seeking damages for individual riders, the lawsuit asks the court to require Uber executives and directors to reimburse the company for losses allegedly caused by their misconduct. It also seeks corporate governance reforms requiring Uber to strengthen its compliance systems, improve oversight of passenger safety and implement additional internal controls designed to prevent future violations.

Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuits

The shareholder lawsuit comes as Uber continues to defend thousands of sexual assault claims filed by passengers nationwide in both state and federal courts. The federal litigation was centralized in October 2023 before U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in the Northern District of California, where more than 3,500 claims are now pending.

The first federal bellwether trial concluded in February, when a jury awarded plaintiff Jaylynn Dean $8.5 million after finding Uber drivers qualify as agents of the company under common carrier law. However, jurors rejected negligence claims against Uber itself and declined to award punitive damages.

A second federal bellwether trial ended in April with plaintiff Brianna Mensing receiving a $5,000 award. During the trial, Mensing testified that she sought accountability and an apology from Uber more than financial compensation.

In one of the first state court trials, held in California in September 2025, jurors found Uber negligent but concluded the company’s conduct was not a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s assault, resulting in no damages award.

Although none of the bellwether verdicts are binding on other plaintiffs, they are expected to influence ongoing settlement discussions by providing insight into how juries evaluate the evidence and assess damages.

If the litigation is not largely resolved through settlements or other means, Judge Breyer is expected to begin remanding cases to their original federal courts for individual trials.

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