A shocking lawsuit has been filed against a major ride-sharing company, alleging a pattern of negligence and misconduct that has resulted in numerous sexual assaults by its drivers. This complaint was lodged by a group of plaintiffs in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, on April 1, 2025, targeting Lyft, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys from Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger and Chaffin Luhana LLP, accuse Lyft of failing to protect its passengers from sexual predators among its drivers. The complaint outlines a series of horrifying incidents where female and male passengers were allegedly assaulted or raped by Lyft drivers across various states including New York, California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, Kentucky, South Carolina and more. The plaintiffs argue that despite being aware of these ongoing issues since at least 2015 through passenger complaints and criminal investigations, Lyft has not taken adequate measures to prevent such incidents.
The lawsuit highlights several accusations against Lyft: general negligence; negligent hiring and supervision; common carrier negligence; failure to warn passengers; vicarious liability for the torts committed by its drivers; intentional misrepresentation regarding safety claims; negligent infliction of emotional distress; breach of contract; and strict product liability due to design defects and failure to warn. Plaintiffs allege that Lyft prioritizes profits over passenger safety by neglecting proper background checks for drivers and failing to implement effective monitoring systems during rides.
Plaintiffs are seeking damages exceeding $25,000 along with punitive damages for what they describe as conscious disregard for passenger safety. They demand that Lyft be held accountable under California law for the actions of its employees through principles like respondeat superior and agency theory. Additionally they seek relief in terms of policy changes within the company such as implementing zero-tolerance policies towards misconduct ensuring better vetting processes providing adequate training on handling serious allegations related driver behavior among others.
The case is being handled by attorneys Khaldoun A. Baghdadi (State Bar #190111) and Sara M. Peters (State Bar #260610) from Walkup Melodia Kelly & Schoenberger along with Roopal P Luhana from Chaffin Luhana LLP who will request Pro Hac Vice status if necessary while Judge Sahar Enayati presides over proceedings under Case ID: CGC-25-623857.