A shocking lawsuit has been filed against a major ride-sharing company, alleging negligence and failure to protect passengers from sexual assaults by its drivers. The complaint was filed by Levin Simes LLP on November 20, 2024, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, against Lyft, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The plaintiffs are a group of individuals identified as Jane Doe LS 559 through Jane Doe LS 574 and John Doe LS 563.
The plaintiffs accuse Lyft of general negligence, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, common carrier negligence, negligent failure to warn, vicarious liability for the torts committed by its drivers including sexual assault and battery, false imprisonment, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and strict product liability. According to the complaint, since at least 2014 Lyft has been aware that its drivers have been involved in sexually assaulting female passengers but has failed to take adequate measures to prevent such incidents. The plaintiffs allege that Lyft's management continues to hire drivers without performing adequate background checks and fails to implement reasonable driver monitoring procedures designed to protect passenger safety.
The plaintiffs detail harrowing accounts of sexual assaults perpetrated by Lyft drivers across various states including Illinois, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia, Texas, Virginia among others. For instance, Plaintiff Jane Doe LS 559 recounts an incident on October 7th where she was groped by her driver who blocked her from exiting the vehicle. Another plaintiff describes being assaulted when her driver pulled over into an abandoned lot and forcibly removed her clothing.
The lawsuit argues that Lyft's business model prioritizes profits over passenger safety which results in inadequate screening processes for new drivers and insufficient monitoring systems for existing ones. It is alleged that Lyft’s executives have made deliberate decisions not to adopt necessary safety measures despite knowing about ongoing attacks on passengers by some drivers who are described as sexual predators.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages exceeding $25 million for each plaintiff along with punitive damages due to what they describe as conscious disregard for passenger safety. They also demand changes in Lyft’s policies regarding driver screening and monitoring practices along with better training programs aimed at preventing future incidents.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys William A. Levin (SBN 98592), Laurel L. Simes (SBN 134637), David Grimes (SBN 324292), Samira Bokaie (SBN 332782) from Levin Simes LLP based in San Francisco California while Judge Sahar Enayati serves as Deputy Clerk overseeing case number CGC-24-619946.