What to Know
- A woman who alleged she was raped by an Uber driver in 2014 settled her lawsuit with the ride-hailing company
- Lawyers for Keather Taylor filed a notice of settlement Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern
- Taylor sued Uber Technologies Inc. and driver Walter Alberto Ponce in December 2016
A woman who alleged she was raped by an Uber driver in 2014 settled her lawsuit with the ride-hailing company, court documents obtained Monday show.
Lawyers for Keather Taylor filed a notice of settlement Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern. No terms were divulged.
Taylor sued Uber Technologies Inc. and driver Walter Alberto Ponce in December 2016. Her claims included sexual battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, false advertising, fraud and a violation of the state Business and Professions Code.
The suit alleged the company was liable for failing to adequately investigate its drivers' backgrounds and placing its customers, many of them young women, in danger.
The complaint further alleged that Uber markets its services as safe and reliable, but fails to properly screen its driver- employees. Scores of other women throughout the world allege that they, too, have been sexually assaulted by their improperly screened Uber drivers, according to the lawsuit.
Taylor, now 29, used her smart phone on July 21, 2014, to summon an Uber driver after having drinks with friends. She asked for a ride to her boyfriend's residence, but never arrived, according to her lawsuit, which alleged that she was raped by her Uber driver while she was unconscious.
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Taylor said in a previous interview that when she woke up, she saw a condom wrapper on her nightstand and that her toilet seat had been left up.
"I was so disoriented, because the last thing I remember is heading to the guy that I was dating, his house -- and I wasn't there," she said. "I started to panic."
The last thing Taylor remembers from that night is taking a sip from a water bottle provided by her driver, according to her court papers.
Ponce pleaded no contest to sexual battery and was sentenced to six months in jail and probation.
