Winnipeg woman sues Uber after alleged sex assault

A Winnipeg woman has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Uber Canada, accusing the company of negligence after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a driver in December.

Consumer Law Group, a firm based in Ontario and Quebec that specializes in class actions, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the woman, who’s referred to in the statement of claim by the initials C.K., in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench on March 15.

If approved to proceed, the class action would allow anyone who was reportedly sexually assaulted or subject to other sexual misconduct or kidnapping by an Uber driver in Canada to sign onto the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks damages to be determined by the court — including general damages for harm, special damages for medical expenses and punitive damages — because of Uber’s “high-handed, cavalier and arbitrary attitude” toward alleged victims of sexual misconduct.

Uber Canada and several other subsidiary defendants have not filed statements of defence. A spokeswoman for the company, Keerthana Rang, said Uber would not comment on pending litigation but that safety is “at the heart of the Uber platform.”

“We take the utmost care to make sure we follow processes set out by the law,” Rang said Monday. “In Manitoba, a driver must complete a police background check with vulnerable-sector search and a child-abuse registry application before starting to drive with Uber.”

The spokeswoman said operators’ driving records are checked and screenings are conducted annually.

The court papers claim the company knew as early as 2014 that Uber drivers had committed acts of sexual violence on passengers. The suit notes Uber has been the defendant in “numerous civil lawsuits” and arbitration related to similar misconduct in other jurisdictions.

The company, which was founded in the United States, began operating in Winnipeg in 2020 after launching in Toronto in 2012.

C.K. alleges in the court documents that she used her Uber smartphone application to request a ride just after 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2023.

A receipt indicated the ride began at 4:05 a.m. and was officially considered finished by Uber at 4:29 a.m., when the driver arrived at C.K.’s home.

C.K, who had fallen asleep, woke up and tried to get out of the back passenger door, the lawsuit alleges, but the driver got out and stood in front of her, grabbed her by the shoulders and forcibly kissed her on the mouth.

The court papers claim she managed to get out, but the driver followed her onto her driveway. He stopped after she began to scream. C.K. reported the incident to police, who took her statement later that day and reportedly arrested the driver, as per her statement of claim.

Few other details of the incident are included in the lawsuit. Winnipeg police could not immediately confirm whether such an assault had been reported.

C.K. alleges she suffered “significant emotional and psychological harm, pain and suffering and anxiety and stress” because of the “unwarranted and horrific attack.”

The statement of claim says it’s Uber duty to provide a safe service to passengers but that the company lacks reasonable safety measures.

The suit also says Uber could have designed its app in a way that could mitigate risk of harm, do a better job with screening and training drivers, improve monitoring and customer support, and better co-operate with law enforcement.

The court papers accuse Uber of misrepresenting the safety of its services.

“Although taxicabs have been around for decades… which are heavily regulated to provide safeguards and protections for prospective passengers, the defendants opted to instead circumvent the existing industry’s basic protections in order to fuel rapid growth and to monetize hitchhiking,” the lengthy claim states.

“This led to the defendants knowingly placing an Uber rider and an Uber driver (a random layperson) in an isolated private vehicle with limited ways for the rider to escape should anything go wrong.”

C.K. accuses Uber of focusing on the appearance of safety instead of actual safety.

The lawsuit claims at least 14 Uber drivers in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec have been charged with sex assault since 2017, with convictions reported in seven of the cases.

Rang pointed to safety features such as an emergency alert button on the app, as well as education on misconduct for drivers, co-operation with law enforcement and work with non-profits to address human trafficking, as evidence of Uber’s commitment to safety.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca