Uber is the target of yet another sex crime lawsuit, this time concerning a driver who purportedly is a repeat offender. The driver, John Kyle Lane, sexually exposed himself to a rider just days after he had sexually assaulted another rider in a nearby town.
In this suit, the two women claim the company was negligent in its retention of Lane after the first incident, and are seeking at least $25,000 in damages yet to be determined.
Victim #1, Sexual Assault
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a woman was sexually assaulted by Lane on July 22, 2017. The victim contacted the local police and Uber immediately. Uber replied the next day that they had launched an internal investigation, refunded her fare, and placed a restriction on her profile so that the two would never be paired again. Lucky for Victim #1, but not so lucky for Victim #2.
Victim #2, Indecent Exposure
On August 6, 2017, just fifteen days later, Lane picked up another Uber passenger, struck up inappropriate conversation, and exposed himself to her and demanded she touch him. This passenger immediately contacted local police and Uber. The company took six days to respond this time, and again promised an internal investigation, and that the driver wouldn’t be paired with this rider again. (Evidently a rider needs to be actually assaulted to get a refund?) However, this victim told Uber she wanted Lane’s account to be suspended, so that there would be no Victim #3. This time, Uber permanently banned Lane from the App.
Negligent Hiring and Retention by Uber
Uber has been hit with a multitude of negligent hiring claims in the past, including this one, for failing to exercise care and doing a sufficient background check on drivers. However, negligent retention has been less common. In a different case, Uber did continue to negligently retain a driver they knew had violently assaulted a woman months earlier, but that original victim was not an Uber rider. In this instance, Uber knew he had assaulted an Uber rider, chose to keep Lane on the App, and he committed a substantially similar crime on another Uber rider. It may be very hard for Uber to dodge liability for failing to “exercise reasonable care in retaining Lane and continuing to allow him to drive its customers”, given Uber had actual knowledge of the first sexual assault claim.
In the meantime, Lane has been charged with stalking, harassment, sexual battery, and indecent exposure.
If you have been the victim of a sexual assault, especially by an employee or contractor, contact the police and our firm, The Law Office of Norman Gregory Fernandez at 800-816-1529 or through the contact form to the right. We are trained to listen to your facts, we will provide you with a free consultation, and give you our recommendations.
If you are involved in a Car Accident while riding in an Uber, Lyft, Taxi, or other paid ride service, or have been the victim of an assault, Call our accident injury attorneys for a free consultation at 800-816-1529.
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Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., is a top rated, nationally recognized Senior Attorney at Law, and the founder of The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates, a California personal injury law firm. He is the proud father of two adult daughters, and four grandchildren. Mr. Fernandez is an aggressive trial lawyer who has almost 3 decades of experience handling Personal Injury, and other types of legal matters, throughout the State of California. Mr. Fernandez has been made a member of the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers, by the National Trial Lawyers Association. He was also named one of the 10 Best by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys for the year 2016-2017. He handles cases which include but are no limited to: car, bus, and other motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall, trip and fall, traumatic brain injury, medical malpractice, and physical torts such as assault and battery, wrongful death, and many other types of personal injury and civil litigation cases. Being an avid motorcycle rider himself, Mr. Fernandez is intimately familiar with the special problems related to motorcycle accidents. Mr. Fernandez has successfully handled thousands of personal injury cases over the years. He has also handled many types of premises liability cases, (slip and fall, trip and fall, etc.) which are known as in the personal injury world as the most difficult types of personal injury cases to litigate. He earned a Juris Doctor Degree from The University of La Verne College of Law, and is licensed to practice law in the State of California by the California Supreme Court. Mr. Fernandez has also been admitted to practice law before The United States Federal Court, Central District, The United States Federal Court, Eastern District, and The United States Federal Court, Northern District. Mr. Fernandez is or has been a member of The California State Bar, The American Bar Association, The Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Norman Gregory Fernandez is a past member of the American Bar Association Advisory Panel. Norman Gregory Fernandez was asked to speak at the Sandra Day O’Conner School of Law, at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, by the American Bar Association’s “Legal Rebel’s” project, on April 6, 2011. Mr. Fernandez was asked by the American Bar Association to speak at their annual convention on August 5, 2010, in San Francisco, California. He has been in the media and in legal publications. Attorney Fernandez was featured in NBC News, CBS News, and Fox News in November, 2021. Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., appeared on CBS News on July 18, 2013 An article about Norman Gregory Fernandez appears in the American Bar Association Journal magazine, February 1, 2011. Mr. Fernandez appeared on NBC news on October 19, 2010. Norman Gregory Fernandez was interviewed and quoted in the Press Enterprise newspaper on August 24, 2010. Mr. Fernandez appears in the American Bar Association online Journal, August 5, 2010. Norman Gregory Fernandez was mentioned in a Los Angeles Times article on May 5, 2009. Norman Gregory Fernandez was featured in the San Fernando Valley Business Journal, March 3-16, 2008 edition. Mr. Fernandez wrote a legal article that was published in The Reporter, a general circulation publication based in Long Beach, CA, December 12, 2008. An Interview of Norman Gregory Fernandez appears in the January 2001, edition of Managing Partner Magazine. An extensive interview of Mr. Fernandez was published in the January 2000 issue of California Lawyer Magazine. Mr. Fernandez was quoted in the December/ January 2000 issue of Law Office Computing. Mr. Fernandez wrote an article which was published in the April/ May 1999 issue of Law Office Computing Magazine. An article was written about Mr. Fernandez which was published in the May 1999 issue of Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. Avvo, a premier attorney rating service has given Mr. Fernandez a perfect 10 out of 10 rating. Mr. Fernandez is an aggressive lawyer who enjoys getting results for his clients. He can be reached at 800-816-1529.
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