Uber must pay $40 million to the parents of a 23-year-old woman who was struck and killed after an Uber driver left her on an Orange County freeway, an arbitrator has ruled.
Retired Judge Richard A. Stone found that Uber could be held responsible for the conduct of driver Vu Tran, rejecting the company’s argument that California’s Proposition 22 protected it from such liability. Stone awarded $20 million each to Emily Normandin-Parker’s parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker. Her friend, Luna Moore, received a separate award of $300,000.
The decision arose from a ride on 12 August 2023. Tran picked up Normandin-Parker and Moore from a bar, then stopped at a gore point on State Route 73 after Moore began vomiting in the car. Stone described the location as “unsafe and illegal”.
Tran then argued with Moore about a cleaning fee and left both women at the roadside location, Stone found. Normandin-Parker, who was inebriated, later wandered into traffic and was struck and killed.
GPS records showed that Tran drove into the vicinity of Normandin-Parker’s body after leaving the women, before continuing to the next exit, according to the ruling. Tran later asked Uber to charge Emily’s account a cleaning fee after he had left the scene.
Stone found Tran’s testimony to be largely or almost entirely incredible and unbelievable. The arbitrator awarded no punitive damages.
The ruling turns on Uber’s legal responsibilities to passengers. Proposition 22, approved by California voters in 2020, permits app-based companies to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. Uber argued that this classification meant it was not vicariously liable for Tran’s actions.
Stone rejected that position. He found that Uber operates as a common carrier, meaning it has a non-delegable duty to protect passengers. The finding also rejected Uber’s position that it is solely a technology platform.
“Prop. 22 does not immunize Uber from vicarious liability” for wrongdoing by its drivers, Stone wrote.
The parents and Moore sued Tran and Uber in Orange County Superior Court in September 2023. The parties later agreed to resolve the dispute through arbitration, a private process rather than a court trial.
The decision establishes an arbitrator’s view that Proposition 22 does not remove Uber’s responsibility for a driver’s conduct where the company has duties as a common carrier. It remains unknown whether Uber will seek to challenge the award or its enforceability, and whether the decision will influence other cases involving ride-hailing platforms.
Normandin-Parker was a 2022 UCLA graduate. Her parents created the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation and said the arbitration proceeds would be directed to it.
Uber reported revenue of more than $14 billion and net income of more than $2 billion in its second quarter that ended in June.
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