Judge orders Uber to pay $40 million in wrongful death case

This is not something we read about every day.

Over the summer, Uber was ordered by a California judge to pay $40 million in a wrongful death case.

The case stems from a horrible incident that occurred in Orange County on the 73 freeway.

Vu Tran was an Uber driver who picked up Emily Normandin-Parker and her friend Luna Moore from a local bar. Both passengers were inebriated. One of them began vomiting.

What happened next is unclear. Mr. Tran claimed he pulled over to the shoulder of the freeway because one of the passengers asked him to. The arbitrator in the case, the Hon. Richard Stone, didn’t buy it. In fact, he found that Mr. Tran’s testimony was mostly self-serving and not believable.

The testimony in the case was that Mr. Tran ordered both passengers to get out of his car because he was angry that one of the passengers had vomited inside the car. Emily and Luna both got out, and Emily was then struck by a passing car going full speed on the 73 freeway.

The case raises important questions of law pertaining to ride share liability. We have discussed this issue before: Ride share drivers must exercise reasonable care when dropping off passengers.

This case also discussed whether Uber is a “common carrier.” I have discussed common carrier liability in the past, most recently here.

Judge Stone ruled that Uber is in fact a common carrier, which imposes a higher duty of care. Mr. Tran inexplicably ejecting his passengers on the shoulder of the 73 freeway was a blatant violation of Uber’s duty of care owed to Emily and Luna.

As an aside, I’ll mention that before Judge Stone retired from the bench and became a private mediator/arbitrator, I appeared in his courtroom on one of my first cases. He was thoughtful and measured. It was a true pleasure to be in his courtroom.

In this case, Judge Stone acknowledged that this substantial verdict won’t bring Emily back. The only justice the law provides is monetary—and Judge Stone provided a just ruling. You can read Judge Stone’s opinion here.

For questions about your Uber, Lyft, or other accident case, my office is ready to assist, 24/6.