Uber has been ordered to pay $40 million (£29 million) to the family of a 23-year-old woman who was fatally struck on a California highway after the ride-hailing company’s driver pulled over and ordered her and her friend out of the car, in a landmark ruling that rejects the company’s long-standing argument that it bears no responsibility for the actions of its drivers.
Emily Normandin-Parker, a 2022 graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, had booked an Uber for home with her friend Luna Moore on 12 August 2023, following a night out in Costa Mesa, court documents show. During the ride, Moore became sick and vomited in the car. The driver, Vu Tran, pulled over on State Route 73 in Orange County — at a gore point, the triangular area separating an exit ramp from the freeway — and ordered the two women, who were intoxicated, out of the vehicle.
Moments later, Normandin-Parker was struck and killed by another vehicle. Her parents said the driver forced the women out and then drove off.
A “Fit of Anger” at the Gore Point
Retired Los Angeles County Judge Richard A. Stone, who presided over a five-day arbitration hearing in March, ruled that Tran “needlessly placed” Normandin-Parker and her friend in danger. In a scathing decision, Stone described the gore point as an “unsafe and illegal” area and found that Tran could have instead taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and stopped in a safe location.
“In a fit of anger, he needlessly placed them (and himself) in danger by illegally stopping in the gore point,” Stone ruled.
The arbitrator found that Tran showed “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers.” According to the arbitration award, GPS data showed Tran drove near Normandin-Parker’s body before taking the next exit and calling Uber to seek a cleaning fee. Lawyers representing the family said Tran did not call for help for the women.
Stone also found that Uber had received previous complaints about Tran’s driving. One rider described a trip with Tran as “the least safe” ride they had experienced, while another said “he cannot drive.” Normandin-Parker’s father, Ken Parker, described the complaints to ABC News’ Good Morning America as “driving the wrong way on a one-way, erratic driving, almost hitting pedestrians, very erratic behavior.”
Stone described Tran’s testimony as “largely — in fact, almost entirely — incredible and unbelievable.” Tran had tried to claim he was not at fault because Normandin-Parker walked into the traffic, an argument the judge rejected.
A Landmark Liability Ruling
The ruling marks a significant legal blow to Uber’s long-held defence that its drivers are independent contractors and that the company is merely a technology platform connecting riders with drivers. Stone found Uber vicariously liable for Tran’s negligence as a common carrier, holding that Uber provides transportation services to the public through its app, sets prices, and controls key aspects of the rider experience.
The arbitrator also rejected Uber’s argument that Proposition 22 — a California ballot measure approved by voters in 2020 that allows companies to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors rather than employees — prevented the company from being held liable for Tran’s conduct.
Following the five-day arbitration, Stone awarded $20 million each to Normandin-Parker’s parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, finding Uber and Tran jointly and severally liable. Moore was separately awarded $300,000. The arbitrator did not award punitive damages.
“That Trust Cost Our Daughter Her Life”
In an exclusive interview with Good Morning America that aired on Thursday, Normandin-Parker’s parents spoke of their grief and their belief that Uber put profits over their daughter’s safety.
Asked if they believed Uber prioritised profits over safety, Carol Normandin responded: “Absolutely.”
“Emily did everything Uber tells riders to do — she made the responsible choice not to drive and we trusted Uber to get her home safely,” the couple said in a statement. “That trust cost our daughter her life.”
Ken Parker said the family decided to speak publicly because neither Tran nor Uber had taken responsibility. “The reason we’re talking is because he [Tran] didn’t take responsibility and neither did Uber. They’re still not taking responsibility. We do not want this to ever happen to another mother or father.”
Normandin-Parker’s family described her as “anything but ordinary” in an obituary. “She was beautiful, empathetic, brave, smart, interesting, hilarious and extraordinary. She was a bright light.”
Uber’s Response
Uber said it believed the arbitrator was wrong in holding the company legally responsible for the event. “While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” an Uber spokesperson said. “Our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family.”
The company added: “We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years, through new technology, policies and safeguards informed by safety experts, including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations.”
Uber also stated that Tran had completed nearly 6,000 trips without a single incident of an unsafe drop-off, freeway stop or rider injury, and that he no longer has access to the Uber platform.
A Confidential Settlement Rejected
The law firm representing the family, Panish, Shea, Ravipudi, said Uber had initially proposed a settlement that would give the parents $10 million and require them not to speak about the incident, which they declined. Uber chiefs later tried to keep the arbitration award confidential, threatening a $10 million penalty against the parents if they spoke out, according to the family.
“We didn’t have much time to absorb the award before Uber almost immediately started contending that it could not be made public and then sent an agreement to us requiring non-disparagement, the $10 million penalty for saying anything bad about Uber,” Parker told Good Morning America.
Rahul Ravipudi, a partner at the law firm, said the ruling is about accountability “not only for Emily and her family, but for every passenger who trusts Uber to get them home safely.”
Broader Implications
The ruling comes amid mounting legal scrutiny of Uber’s safety record and its business model. In February 2026, a federal jury in Arizona ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said one of its drivers raped her during a 2023 trip, rejecting the company’s independent contractor defence. Uber has faced thousands of similar claims, with reported rapes during Uber rides increasing 3% from 2022 to 2023, according to court testimony.
The case also underscores the risks passengers face when drivers make unilateral decisions to end rides in unsafe locations. Uber’s own safety guidance, developed with the Governors Highway Safety Association, advises drivers to “always use safe, designated areas away from highways for pickups and dropoffs,” noting that “highways are not safe places to stop at any time.”
For Normandin-Parker’s family, the award is a measure of justice, but not a substitute for their daughter’s life. “We do not want this to ever happen to another mother or father,” Parker said.
Additional reporting by ABC News, the New York Post, and Dow Jones Newswires.
