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Passengers not defrauded Uber ( UBER ) safety-related ads

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Judge allows claims over lack of gender-matching option

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Bellwether trial could begin in December

By Jonathan Stempel

July 9 (Reuters) - The federal judge overseeing more

than 2,300 lawsuits seeking to hold Uber ( UBER ) liable to

passengers who were sexually assaulted or harassed by drivers

dismissed some key claims in the nationwide litigation.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco rejected

some fraud and product liability claims on Tuesday.

His decision addressing 20 "bellwether" Uber ( UBER ) cases could be

a template for similar cases against the San Francisco-based

ride-sharing company. A trial is scheduled for December 8.

Lawyers for passengers did not immediately respond to

requests for comment on Wednesday. Uber ( UBER ) and its lawyers did not

immediately respond to similar requests.

Passengers said "Designated Driver" ads promoting Uber ( UBER ) as a

safe alternative to drunk driving should have disclosed that

intoxicated people, especially women and especially late at

night, faced an elevated risk of sexual assault by drivers.

The passengers also said app notifications containing Uber ( UBER )

drivers' names, photos and "star ratings" should have disclosed

drivers' prior misconduct and criminal histories.

In his 37-page decision, Breyer dismissed fraud claims based

on ads saying "Don't drink and drive, call an Uber ( UBER )" and "Stay

safe tonight. Use Uber ( UBER )."

The judge said reasonable consumers would view those ads

merely as encouragement to use Uber ( UBER ), rather than drive drunk.

But he also said Uber's ( UBER ) handling of app notifications "could

form a deceptive scheme to obfuscate the risk of serious harm"

when women accepted rides from drivers with histories of

misconduct.

Uber ( UBER ) said it did not intend to fraudulently withhold

information, and no passengers claimed they relied on the app

notifications.

Breyer also dismissed claims that Uber's ( UBER ) app was defective

because it failed to prevent high-risk pairings of drivers and

passengers.

He refused to dismiss product liability claims based on the

app's lacking a feature to match passengers with drivers of the

same gender.

The judge previously dismissed some other claims in the

bellwether cases.

In its U.S. safety report for 2021 and 2022, Uber ( UBER ) said it

received 2,717 reported incidents of the most serious categories

of sexual assault and misconduct.

Uber ( UBER ) also said only 0.1% of the more than 1.8 billion U.S.

trips in those years had reported safety incidents, mainly about

"minor" issues such as complaints about driving or verbal

arguments.

The case is In re Uber Technologies Inc Passenger Sexual

Assault Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of

California, No. 23-03084.