Uber Reaches Deal to Settle Rape Victim's Defamation Suit
Court papers filed Dec. 8 indicate that the Jane Doe plaintiff reached a deal to settle her defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit with Uber and two former executives accused of improperly obtaining the medical records and police file from the attack.
December 11, 2017 at 01:08 PM
2 minute read
Uber office. Photo credit: Linda Parton/Shutterstock.com
A woman who was raped by her Uber driver in India has reached a deal to settle a civil lawsuit against the company and former executives accused of improperly obtaining her medical records.
The Jane Doe plaintiff, represented by counsel from Wigdor LLP and Anderson & Poole, sued Uber for defamation and invasion of privacy in June. The lawsuit came in the wake of media reports that former executive Eric Alexander traveled to India to obtain the medical and police records from the victim's case, then shared them with former Uber senior vice president Emil Michael and CEO Travis Kalanick.
According to court papers filed in the Jane Doe plaintiff's lawsuit on Dec. 8, Uber, Kalanick and Alexander reached a deal to settle the lawsuit after a round of private mediation in September. A spokesman for Uber confirmed by email Monday morning that the company had reached a deal to settle the lawsuit but declined to comment further. At the time the suit was filed, the company issued a statement saying: “No one should have to go through a horrific experience like this, and we're truly sorry that she's had to relive it over the last few weeks.”
The plaintiff previously brought a negligence and fraud lawsuit against Uber in January 2015, claiming her attack could have been prevented if Uber had adequate driver background checks in place. That suit was voluntarily dismissed nine months later. Uber reportedly paid more than $3 million to settle the earlier suit.
Michael, Uber's former senior VP, was previously dismissed from the defamation lawsuit in October after his lawyers at Latham & Watkins argued in court papers that the Jane Doe plaintiff's complaint didn't accuse Michael of doing anything unlawful. That dismissal, however, was without prejudice.
Latham's Steven Bauer said in an email that Michael was not part of the settlement. “There was no basis for a suit against Mr. Michael,” Bauer said. “When we filed our motion to dismiss, the plaintiff dropped the case rather than oppose it.”
Doe's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, didn't immediately respond to a message seeking a comment.
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