A federal jury in North Carolina has ordered the rideshare company Uber to pay $5,000 in damages to a woman who testified that a driver assaulted her, touching her inner thigh during a 2019 ride.
Monday’s civil verdict comes less than two months after a jury in Arizona found Uber liable and ordered it to pay $8.5 million to another woman, who said a driver raped her.
Uber said in a statement that it plans to appeal.
“The jury’s award here should further bring these cases back to reality, as it represents a tiny fraction of previous demands,” it said, referring to the award amount.
“That said, we believe the jury was once again incorrectly instructed on the question of liability and have strong grounds for appeal on that important point.”
Both the North Carolina and Arizona cases were bellwether trials — test runs for more than 3,000 lawsuits across various jurisdictions that feature similar allegations.
The results give both sides in the untried suits a sense of how juries might view their cases, which can inform the decision to proceed to trial or try to settle out of court.
According to the Charlotte Observer, during the weeklong trial, Uber’s attorneys zeroed in on plaintiff Brianna Mensing’s history of drug abuse and suggested she had an unreliable memory.
Her lawyer, William Smith, told the paper the verdict was a “great result.”
“Uber comes into court and tries to trash victims, but nine people sitting on the jury believed her,” he said.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website to receive confidential support.
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