Uber & Lyft.
Passenger sexual assault litigation.

The Uber MDL consolidates federal claims against Uber Technologies, Inc. brought by passengers alleging sexual assault, sexual battery, kidnapping, or related misconduct by Uber drivers. The Lyft MDL, established separately in February 2026 before Judge Rita Lin in the same district, consolidates analogous claims against Lyft. Plaintiffs argue both companies were on notice of widespread driver assault for years and failed to implement basic safety measures — meaningful background checks, in-vehicle cameras, gender-matching options, or termination protocols after first complaints.

Uber's own safety reports document more than 12,500 sexual assault reports across 2017-2022 in the five most severe categories alone. Plaintiffs argue this internal data establishes that Uber knew about the systemic risk to passengers and failed to act. The litigation is structured around negligence theories — negligent hiring, retention, and supervision — alongside vicarious liability claims grounded in California's common-carrier doctrine.

In April 2026, Judge Breyer ruled that Uber owes a non-delegable duty to safely transport passengers under California law, rejecting the company's argument that drivers are independent contractors whose conduct it cannot be held responsible for. The ruling materially strengthens the plaintiffs' liability framework heading into the next wave of bellwether trials.

Rideshare assault intake requires sensitivity to a survivor population and rigorous documentation of ride history, assault circumstances, and any contemporaneous reporting (to police, the platform, or medical providers). Eligibility profiles vary materially by state, by assault category, and by whether the case will be tried as a federal MDL bellwether or as part of California's state JCCP. We have built docket-specific intake protocols handled by trained, U.S.-based specialists with the right training to manage these conversations.

Acquisition runs across paid social, paid search, and connected TV, with creative built specifically for this docket and compliance review on every iteration. Every claimant flows through our multi-vendor fraud-detection suite — Anura, CHEQ, ActiveProspect, TrustedForm, Blacklist Alliance, and Plaid — before reaching the partner firm. Retained cases land directly in the firm's case management system in real time.

For partner firms holding rideshare dockets, we provide standing operational reporting on retained cases delivered, cost per qualified retention, and case-tier mix against your screening criteria. Strategy sessions cover docket-portfolio decisions: how the Dean verdict and Breyer common-carrier ruling change case-value expectations, which assault profiles drive the highest recoveries, and how Uber-versus-Lyft case mix should shift as the Lyft MDL matures.