California trial lawyers and Uber — longtime courtroom foes — are officially bringing their fight to the November ballot.
A coalition of lawyers and advocates announced Thursday that it has collected enough signatures from voters to support “first-in-the-nation” legislation that would make rideshare companies legally responsible for sexual assaults that occur with a driver or customer during a trip. Uber has argued that it is not liable for attacks by drivers, who are considered independent contractors.
“We must hold Uber accountable today,” said Danielle Tudahl, who recounted being sexually assaulted and stalked by an Uber driver after ordering a ride through the app, at a Sacramento news conference. “Californians are finally demanding action to close some of these loopholes and put people’s safety above corporate profits.”
Uber described it as ballot measureWhich is sponsored by Consumer Advocates of California, or CAOC, as retaliation for its own November ballot measure to limit how much attorneys can earn in car accident cases in California.
“This is a cynical ploy by ballot billboard lawyers,” said Nathan Click, spokesman for A More Affordable California, an Uber-backed coalition. “CAOC didn’t spend millions to put this on the ballot to protect survivors – their goal is to protect billboard attorney profits.”
The coalition supporting Uber announced last week that it had collected enough signatures for a measure limit attorney fees 25% discount in car accident cases, among other changes.
Uber says its ballot measure would give victims a big cut of their settlement money, instead paying primarily to lawyers and doctors. Lawyers hit back, saying it would leave thousands of people with small or complicated cases without a lawyer because they would not have a financial incentive to sue.
Both sides are getting ready for a costly battle. Uber has given more than $77 million. The Alliance Against Corporate Abuse, the CAOC-backed coalition pushing the sexual harassment measure, has raised more than $68 million from law firms across the state, according to campaign finance records.
The money helped pay for billboards across L.A. informing drivers, according to new York TimesUber received one report of sexual harassment or misconduct on average every eight minutes between 2017 and 2022. The company was the subject of a series of investigations by the newspaper into sexual harassment of drivers. The company says it has invested billions to keep riders safe and has “done more than any other company” to combat sexual violence.
The proposed sexual harassment measure would require ride-share companies to tell riders whether the person picking them up has a history of sexual misconduct and would require annual fingerprint and background checks for drivers.
The company is currently fighting more than 3,000 lawsuits from passengers who claim they were sexually assaulted or harassed by Uber drivers. Those cases are being coordinated by a federal judge in California.
The Attorney Coalition also put forward a purposeful initiative ending the If Uber’s fee-cap measure passes. Campaign spokesperson Alex Stack said they were “pausing/withdrawing” the measure to “focus the fight on our sexual harassment prevention measure and defeating Uber’s initiative.”
