Uber ordered to pay $40M to parents of woman fatally struck after being left on freeway

Key Points:

• Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate, was struck and killed after her Uber driver, Vu Tran, left her and a friend at an unsafe gore point on a Southern California freeway following a dispute over a cleaning fee.
• An arbitration awarded $40 million to Normandin-Parker’s parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, holding Uber and Tran jointly liable, with the arbitrator rejecting Uber’s claims that it is merely a technology company and that Proposition 22 shields it from liability.
• The arbitrator found Tran’s actions reckless and his testimony largely unbelievable, noting he prioritized his new car over passenger safety and ignored safer alternatives for dropping off the intoxicated women.
• Evidence showed Uber had prior complaints about Tran’s dangerous driving, and the company has faced criticism for attempting to keep the arbitration award confidential and imposing non-disparagement conditions on the family.
• Normandin-Parker’s parents have established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to promote ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability, funded by the arbitration proceeds.