Orlando, Florida
CNN
—
A woman in Florida is suing Lyft, alleging that she was raped by her Lyft driver in 2019, and that the assault led to the birth of her third child. This lawsuit adds to a series of sexual assault allegations involving the company.
Lyft has denied the allegations, stating that the assault occurred during an “off-app” ride hours after the official Lyft ride with the same driver. The company also claimed that it only learned about the incident years later.
According to the complaint filed in California Northern District Court on January 10, plaintiff Tabatha Means stated that what was supposed to be a short ride back to her place after a night out turned uncomfortable when the driver asked her to sit in the front seat, and then began complimenting and inappropriately touching her.
Upon arriving at her destination, the driver insisted on helping her inside, despite her protests, and then allegedly assaulted her repeatedly.
This lawsuit is the latest legal action against a rideshare company over alleged sexual assault or misconduct, as Lyft, like its competitor Uber, has faced numerous lawsuits over the issue. Lyft has denied the allegations against it, and some states have attempted to implement tighter safety restrictions for rideshare companies.
Lyft has emphasized that its service is safe and has introduced increased safety measures in recent years, such as the ability to “share” a ride for a friend to track its progress, and an emergency alert feature in partnership with security company ADT.
According to Lyft, more than 99% of rides on the platform occur without any safety report. However, Means and her lawyer dispute Lyft’s characterization of the assault as happening outside of an app-initiated ride.
Means alleges that she became pregnant from the alleged assault and suffered mental health and financial issues due to the alleged rape and subsequent pregnancy.
Despite differing versions of the events, Lyft stated that an internal investigation found that the driver gave Means an on-platform ride earlier in the night, and a separate off-platform ride was arranged with the same driver to take Means back from the bar, after which the alleged assault took place.
Means has not filed criminal or other charges against the driver and attempts to resolve her case with Lyft through mediation were unsuccessful.
Following a CNN investigation into sexual assault and abuse incidents by rideshare drivers, Lyft and Uber both committed to releasing safety transparency reports and no longer forcing customers with claims of sexual assault into arbitration.
Lyft has agreed to a $25 million settlement with shareholders over allegations related to safety issues, including reports of drivers assaulting passengers, and Means’ lawsuit urges Lyft to continue expanding its safety measures.
Despite the ongoing legal battle, Means hopes to bring attention to the potential safety issues of having someone else order a ride and encourages others to speak out about similar experiences.
