Overview
- Jurors concluded the driver was acting as Uber’s apparent agent, making the company responsible for his conduct in the 2023 Tempe incident involving plaintiff Jaylynn Dean.
- The panel awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages, rejected negligence and design‑defect claims, and declined punitive damages after lawyers sought roughly $144 million.
- Trial evidence showed Uber’s Safety Risk algorithm flagged Dean’s trip as high risk shortly before pickup without an in‑app warning, which an executive testified would have been impractical.
- Uber says it will appeal and emphasized that the jury rejected other claims, reiterating its investments in safety features such as risk‑assessment tools and new rider options.
- As the first federal bellwether in an MDL of about 3,000 cases—separate from roughly 500 in California state court where one jury found no liability—the verdict is expected to influence settlement valuations and trial strategy across the docket.