Consumer Attorneys of California backs ballot measure on rideshare liability — Truck Accident Attorney

A coalition backed by Consumer Attorneys of California said Thursday it gathered enough signatures to place a November ballot measure on the California ballot, and the proposal would make rideshare companies legally responsible for sexual assaults during trips. Danielle Tudahl, an Uber assault survivor, said at a Sacramento news conference, "We must hold Uber accountable today," as she described being sexually harassed and chased by an Uber driver.

The measure would require ride-share companies to tell riders if the person picking them up has a history of sexual misconduct and would require yearly fingerprint and background checks for drivers. It would also put a direct legal duty on companies in a state where Uber is already fighting more than 3,000 lawsuits from passengers who say they were sexually assaulted or harassed by drivers.

Uber liability fight

Uber has argued that it is not liable for assaults committed by drivers because the drivers are considered independent contractors. The company is facing those claims in coordinated litigation before a federal judge in California, giving the ballot measure a clear legal target if voters approve it in November.

The fight over rideshare liability comes as Uber and California trial lawyers are already spending heavily on competing ballot efforts. Uber has given more than $77 million, while the Alliance Against Corporate Abuse has raised more than $68 million from law firms across the state.

Competing ballot campaigns

Last week, Uber-backed supporters of a separate ballot measure said they had gathered enough signatures for a proposal that would cap attorney fees for car crash cases at 25%. Nathan Click, speaking for A More Affordable California, called the new rideshare measure "a cynical ploy by billboard lawyers."

Alex Stack said the coalition had been pushing an initiative aimed at nullifying Uber’s fee-capping measure if it passed, but that it was pausing or withdrawing that effort to focus on the sexual assault prevention measure and on beating Uber’s initiative.

Between 2017 and 2022, Uber received a report of sexual assault or misconduct every eight minutes on average, according to. For California voters, the November measure now turns a long-running legal fight into a direct question of who pays when a ride turns into a criminal case.