Uber Settlements Reached To Resolve Certain Sexual Assault Lawsuits

As lawyers continue to prepare for the start of additional bellwether trials in April 2026, a recent court filing suggests that Uber sexual assault settlements have been reached to resolve at least some cases over the past few months.

Court records indicate that Uber has made settlement payouts to resolve at least some of the sexual assault lawsuits currently being pursued by thousands of former passengers, which involve allegations that the rideshare service did not do enough to protect passengers from sexual predators driving Uber vehicles.

The company currently faces nearly 3,300 Uber driver sexual assault lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide, with hundreds more pending in California state courts, each involving similar allegations that passengers were sexually harassed, groped or even raped by drivers using the rideshare app.

The lawsuits claim that Uber should be held accountable for prioritizing profits over passenger safety. Plaintiffs indicate that Uber only conducted cursory background checks on drivers, failed to implement proper training on sexual harassment and assault awareness, refused to place surveillance cameras in vehicles and delayed the rollout of safety features that could have protected vulnerable passengers.

While the rideshare company has broadly denied responsibility for the attacks and continues to defend cases at trial, it now appears that Uber settlements have been reached in at least some of the claims, with a portion of the attorneys fees collected from the payouts diverted to a common benefit fund established in the federal court system.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in Uber sexual assault lawsuits originally filed in various different federal courts nationwide, a federal MDL (multidistrict litigation) was established in late 2023, centralizing all claims before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in the Northern District of California.

As part of the coordinated federal litigation, Judge Breyer has appointed a group of Uber injury lawyers to serve in various leadership roles, conducting pretrial discovery on issues common to all claims and arguing motions before the court.

In October 2024, Judge Breyer issued a pretrial order establishing two common benefit funds to compensate and reimburse lawyers for work done that benefits all plaintiffs in the litigation. As a result, Uber is required to deposit 9% of any settlement or judgment payout into the common benefit funds, with 7% allocated for attorneys fees and 2% for costs.

According to a motion (PDF) filed on March 16, funds were recently deposited into the common benefit fund following Uber settlements. However, details of any of the sexual assault payouts were not provided, and it is unclear how many claims may have been resolved.

Uber Driver Sexual Assault Lawsuit Trials

As part of the coordinated management of the litigation, Judge Breyer previously established a “bellwether” process, where a group of representative claims are being prepared for early trial dates, to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

Last month, the first federal Uber sexual assault bellwether trial resulted in an $8.5 million verdict for plaintiff Jaylynn Dean, who alleged she was raped by an Uber driver in November 2023. Jurors decided that while Uber was not liable for failing to provide additional safety features, it was responsible for the actions of the driver, concluding he was acting as an agent of the rideshare service at the time of the assault.

Post-judgment motions have been filed in the Dean case, and it is expected that Uber will appeal those rulings.

Despite the recent indication that Uber settlement payouts have been made in certain other claims, lawyers are continuing to move forward with plans for a second federal bellwether trial set to begin on April 13, as well as a California state court trial on April 4, 2026.

Uber Lawsuit Settlement Talks

Leading up to these bellwether trials, lawyers have been engaged in Uber sexual assault settlement talks over the past few months, meeting periodically with a retired judge to explore the potential for individual agreements or a global resolution for the litigation. However, details about any agreements reached have not been disclosed.

While the outcome of these upcoming bellwether trials will not be binding on other cases, they are being closely watched and are expected to have a significant impact on ongoing settlement negotiations.

Following the bellwether trials, if the parties are unable to reach large numbers of agreements to settle Uber assault lawsuits, it is expectd that Judge Breyer may begin remanding individual cases back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trial dates.

Sign up for more legal news that could affect you or your family.