Uber Seeks To Delay Passenger Sexual Assault Lawsuit From Going Before Jury in Jan. 2026

Rideshare giant is attempting to postpone the first federal trial from reaching a jury, as additional claims continue to be filed in both federal and state courts.

Uber is asking a federal court to postpone the first bellwether trial in its passenger sexual assault litigation, arguing that a widely aired advocacy ad campaign could unfairly influence potential jurors.

The request centers on a nationwide ad campaign called “Every 8 Minutes,” which highlights allegations that an Uber passenger is sexually assaulted once every eight minutes, and accuses the company of prioritizing efforts to silence survivors, rather than taking meaningful steps to prevent abuse.

The promotion comes as the rideshare service already faces nearly 2,200 Uber passenger sexual assault lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide, 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 Uber passengers, who argue that the rideshare service conducted bare 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.

The federal complaints have been consolidated into an Uber passenger sexual assault lawsuit multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of California, where U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

To help the parties see how juries may respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation, Judge Breyer previously directed the parties to prepare six claims for Uber passenger assault lawsuit bellwether trials, which are expected to begin in the next few weeks.

Uber Seeks Bellwether Trial Delay

The first bellwether case, filed by Jaylynn Dean, is currently scheduled to begin in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 13. However, in early December, Uber filed a motion (PDF) calling for the start of the Dean trial to be delayed until after the Every 8 Minutes ad campaign has run its course, saying they believe the ads could bias potential jurors if they are being broadcast during jury selection.

In addition to delaying the trial until the campaign has ended, defendants called for Judge Breyer to expand the voir dire period, which includes questioning of prospective jurors, and to “restrain” the Every 8 Minutes campaign in states where the first wave of bellwether trials will be heard.

Plaintiffs issued a response in opposition (PDF) to the motion on December 29, noting that the Court has already finalized and distributed juror questionnaires, and that nothing is preventing defendants from questioning jurors about their prejudices during jury selection, which is the selection process’s purpose.

They also argued that Uber’s request for a gag order was an attempt to violate the First Amendment rights of an adversarial political group, calling the request “outlandish.”

“Uber’s eleventh-hour attempt to delay the first bellwether trial in this MDL is meritless. Uber does not establish any basis to vacate Plaintiff Dean’s trial date, which would severely prejudice her right to an expedient trial of her claims and derail the expeditious resolution of this MDL.”

– Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Motion, In Re: Uber Technologies, Inc. Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation

The response notes that the organization responsible for the ad, Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), is not affiliated with any of the plaintiffs’ representation.

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 any settlement 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.

Hundreds of additional complaints have been filed in California state court, with the first Uber sexual assault trial having been held in that jurisdiction in September. Although jurors indicated Uber was negligent in failing to protect passengers, they also found that negligence did not substantially contribute to the attack and thus the company was not liable for damages.

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