A bellwether trial against Uber Technologies Inc. is set to begin April 13 over claims that a driver sexually assaulted a passenger by briefly touching her leg during a ride in North Carolina, according to a Feb. 18, 2026 court filing.
The plaintiff, identified as “WHB 823,” says she left the Uber ride “visibly shaken” after the alleged contact between the driver’s hand and her leg. She says the contact lasted one to two seconds.
The driver denies any contact.
The filing notes the plaintiff withdrew her sole psychological expert, Dr. Heleya Rad, and is no longer seeking punitive damages, in line with a February bellwether verdict that denied more than $120 million in such damages.
The trial is expected to determine “whether the incident as alleged by Plaintiff happened,” “whether Uber is a common carrier under North Carolina law” and “what amount of compensatory damages, if any, are to be awarded,” according to the filing.
The case, originally filed in North Carolina, is part of a federal multidistrict litigation overseen by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in California, though the current bellwether trial is being held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to the filing, the “plaintiff has decided to drop her claims of direct negligence” and “product liability/negligent design causes of action” and will proceed at trial solely on a “vicarious liability theory” under her “Common Carrier’s Non-Delegable Duty to Provide Safe Transportation from her Amended Complaint.”
“Given the narrowed scope and dismissal of additional causes of action, there will be no punitive damages at issue in the trial and the scope of relevant and admissible evidence from both parties will be limited substantially by the contours of this common carrier cause of action,” the filing reads.
Uber has challenged the “common carrier” designation, asking the judge in the case to overturn a tentative ruling that the company is responsible for the actions of independent contractor drivers on its platform.
“Plaintiff’s sole remaining claim fails not only because Uber is not a common carrier but also, among other reasons, because mere common-carrier status does not suffice to establish the absolute vicarious liability Plaintiff asserts,” a footnote in the filing states.
The trial is projected to last no more than nine court days.
The filing was signed by attorneys representing both parties, including John Boundas and Sejal Brahmbhatt, of Houston-based Williams Hart & Boundas LLP, for the plaintiff and Laura Vartain Horn and Allison Brown, of the San Francisco offices of Kirkland Ellis LLP, for Uber.
The trial is part of multi-district litigation consolidating dozens of sexual assault lawsuits against the rideshare company nationwide.
A bellwether, or “test” case, is used by the parties and court to gauge how key issues may play out.
The trial verdict is expected to affect how the remaining cases are handled.
In the first bellwether trial, a federal jury in Arizona awarded a plaintiff $8.5 million, finding Uber liable in a 2023 assault case but rejecting more than $120 million sought by the plaintiff’s attorneys in punitive damages.
Uber continues to deny liability in such cases and has noted it plans to appeal.
The trial comes as Uber continues to report strong financial growth, with annual revenue of $52.02 billion for 2025, up from $43.98 billion in 2024 and $37.28 billion in 2023.
Meanwhile, Uber faces over 3,700 pending lawsuits with plaintiffs alleging the company failed to properly screen drivers and respond to complaints.
Additional trials are scheduled, including a state court trial in San Francisco from May 4-25, a federal MDL trial in the Northern District of California over the same period and a state court trial in the 22nd Judicial District in St. Louis, Mo., set for May 11-25.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys have also targeted competing rideshare company Lyft in a wave of lawsuits with similar fact patterns. A smaller group of sexual assault cases against Lyft, which reported $6.32 billion in revenue in 2025, has been consolidated into a comparable federal MDL
On its website, Uber maintains a webpage titled “Our commitment to safety,” in which it notes its continued efforts to outline safety measures aimed at reducing risks for passengers.
The company says “all drivers are background checked before their first trip” through a “multi-step safety screen,” and that it “rescreens drivers at least every year” while monitoring for issues between checks.
For emergencies, Uber notes that “if you call 911 from the Uber app, the app displays your live location and trip details,” with some cities receiving this information automatically. It also uses RideCheck, which can detect “if a trip goes unusually off-course” allowing the company to “reach out to provide you with the resources you need to get help.”
The company also notes it uses “technology to help keep your phone number private” and “concealing specific pickup and dropoff addresses in a driver’s trip history.” It also cites “a dedicated public safety team” that shares “timely, critical information” with law enforcement.
