Teen alleges she was sexually assaulted by man after Uber dropoff

A judge has denied Uber Technologies Inc.'s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought on behalf of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly picked up by a driver for the ride-hailing company in 2021, despite the teen being underage, and later dropped off in Harvard Heights and sexually assaulted by a another man there.

However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa R. Jaskol also ruled on Thursday that the plaintiff's lawyers will have to shore up her claims against the ride-hailing company for negligence, negligent entrustment and negligent hiring, supervision and retention. The judge allowed 30 days for the filing of an amended complaint.

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A fourth claim, for battery, was targeted only at the girl's alleged assailant.

In her ruling, the judge said that while she accepts the girl's claim that she was injured, her attorneys have not shown the attack was foreseeable by Uber.

"In addition ... imposing a duty on Uber would not further the policy of preventing future harm," the judge wrote.

The Uber driver picked up the plaintiff, now 16, from her Ventura County home about 1:30 a.m. in April 2021, and dropped her off in Harvard Heights, where another man accosted her, dragged her down the street and sexually abused her, the suit states.

The girl's lawyers argued in their court papers that the assault was predictable because the driver should have known that he was putting the plaintiff in danger by dropping her off in the middle of the night in the "presence and control of a dangerous predator and/or unsafe situation."

Uber and other entities and companies defined legally as "common carriers" had a special obligation to the plaintiff because she is a minor, the plaintiff's lawyers further maintain in their court papers.

In their court papers, Uber attorneys stated that the man who allegedly attacked the plaintiff "should be held to account for his heinous actions, plaintiff's claims against Uber fail as a matter of law."

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