LA Woman Sexually Assaulted By Uber Driver Blames The Company

LOS ANGELES, CA — A judge ruled Thursday that a Los Angeles woman can move forward with most of the allegations in her lawsuit alleging she was raped in 2014 by an Uber driver.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern denied a motion by Uber attorneys to dismiss Keather Taylor's causes of action for false advertising, fraud and a violation of the state Business and Professions Code. However, the judge threw out two claims for punitive damages that he said were improperly filed as causes of action. The plaintiff can still potentially obtain punitive damages through some of her other claims.

Uber attorney Natasha Wu told the judge the details given in the lawsuit did not support the fraud claim, but Stern said he was leaving the allegation intact for now and that an argument for dismissal may be appropriate in a future dismissal motion.

The defense motion did not challenge the plaintiff's claims for sexual battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The suit, filed against Uber Technologies Inc. in July 2016, alleges the company was negligent for failing to adequately investigate its drivers' backgrounds and placing its customers, many of them young women, in danger.

The complaint further alleges 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 28, says she 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 alleges that she was raped by her Uber driver while she was unconscious.

Taylor said in a televised 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," Taylor 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.

The plaintiff's attorney, Christopher Bulone, said after the hearing that the alleged assault left his client emotionally distraught and that she has avoided using ride-hailing services since then.

The driver, Walter Alberto Ponce, pleaded no contest to sexual battery and was sentenced to six months in jail and probation. He was added as a defendant in the civil case in December.

City News Service; AP Photo/Seth Wenig