Parents rejected $10M Uber settlement that required their silence

Judge: Driver could have taken exit to drop women safely

The parents of Emily Normandin-Parker turned down a $10 million settlement offer from Uber that would have required them not to speak publicly about their daughter’s death, the family’s law firm said. Judge Richard Stone, serving as arbitrator, later ordered Uber to pay $40 million (£29 million) to Normandin-Parker’s parents after a five-day arbitration process, rejecting Uber’s argument that driver Vu Tran was an independent contractor for whose actions the company bore no legal responsibility.

The events at issue began on 12 August 2023, when Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old University of California, Los Angeles graduate, booked an Uber ride home with a friend. During the trip, her friend became sick and vomited in the car, according to court documents. Normandin-Parker’s parents said Tran pulled over to the side of the highway and ordered the two intoxicated women out of the vehicle. Normandin-Parker was then struck and killed by another vehicle.

Her parents addressed the company directly in a statement. “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,” they said. “That trust cost our daughter her life.”

Lawyers for the family, from the firm Panish, Shea, Ravipudi, said Tran did not call for help for the two women after forcing them out of the car. Instead, according to the lawyers, he pulled off to phone Uber and demand that Normandin-Parker be charged a cleaning fee for the vomiting incident.

In the arbitration decision, Stone criticized Tran’s conduct. Tran “showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers,” Stone said. The judge added that Tran “could have taken the exit and dropped the women off at a safe location.”

Uber, in a statement, said it believed the arbitrator erred in holding the company legally responsible for the incident. “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,” the company said.

Panish, Shea, Ravipudi said Uber had initially proposed a settlement that would have given the parents $10 million and required them not to speak about the incident. The parents declined that offer.

Arbitration is an alternative way to resolve disputes outside of court with a qualified arbitrator, in this case a retired judge.