Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP announces that a retired California judge has ordered Uber Technologies, Inc. to pay $40 million to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate who was killed after an Uber driver abandoned her alongside freeway traffic during what was supposed to be a safe ride home.

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Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate, was killed after an Uber driver abandoned her alongside freeway traffic during what was supposed to be a safe ride home. Following her death, her family established The Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to honor her memory and advocate for stronger rideshare safety protections.

Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate, was killed after an Uber driver abandoned her alongside freeway traffic during what was supposed to be a safe ride home. Following her death, her family established The Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to honor her memory and advocate for stronger rideshare safety protections.

The award follows a five-day arbitration in which retired Judge Richard A. Stone rejected Uber’s argument that it merely operates a technology platform and held that the company functions as a common carrier with a non-delegable duty to protect its passengers. Emily’s parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, were represented by Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP attorneys Rahul Ravipudi, Ian Samson, and Matt Coe-Odess.

In his detailed written decision, Judge Stone concluded that Uber effectively offers transportation services to the public through its app, controls key aspects of the rider experience, sets fares and profits directly from rides. He expressly rejected Uber’s contention that it merely provides a software platform connecting riders with independent drivers and further ruled that Proposition 22 does not shield Uber from vicarious liability for the negligence of its drivers.

The arbitration arose from the August 12, 2023 death of Emily Normandin-Parker. After a night out with a friend, Emily chose not to drive and instead called an Uber for what was supposed to be a safe ride home. She never made it home.

Evidence presented during the arbitration showed that after Emily’s friend became sick during the ride, Uber driver Vu Tran illegally stopped on a freeway gore point on State Route 73 rather than exiting to a safe location. The Uber driver demanded payment for a cleaning fee and ordered the two young women out of the vehicle. Emily, who was intoxicated, was left stranded alongside multiple lanes of freeway traffic, where she was struck by several vehicles and killed.

Rather than render aid or call 911, the Uber driver left the scene and shortly afterward requested that Uber charge Emily’s account a cleaning fee.

Judge Stone found that the Uber driver’s testimony was “largely—in fact, almost entirely—incredible and unbelievable,” concluding that he “needlessly placed” his passengers in danger, showed “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers,” and abandoned two intoxicated young women in an unsafe location despite having safe alternatives available.

Evidence presented during the arbitration also showed that, prior to Emily’s tragic death, Uber had received multiple complaints about Mr. Tran’s “reckless” behavior, with one customer reporting that he had provided “the least safe” ride he had experienced. Although Uber assured those customers that it was “reviewing [Tran’s] account to determine whether [he] should continue to have access to the Uber app,” the evidence presented at the arbitration showed that Uber did not conduct any review of these incidents. Instead, Uber followed its corporate policy: unless the incident resulted in a citation or death, it would only review safety complaints if it received enough of them, no matter how dangerous the driver’s behavior. As a result, Tran was on the road even though his riders had told Uber: “he cannot drive.”

“Emily trusted Uber’s promise of a safe ride home,” said Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP partner Rahul Ravipudi. “Uber’s promises are premised on representations of safety through training, supervision, and alleged safety tools. There was no training, no supervision, and Uber’s documents and witnesses acknowledged the ‘tools’ were designed to be ineffective. Why would Uber do such a thing? Because Uber prioritizes profits over safety. In fact, when the corporate representative was asked whether Uber prioritizes safety over profits, the witness testified, ‘it depends.’ If they put that in an advertisement, no one would take an Uber and Emily would still be here today. Judge Stone’s decision makes clear that companies advertising safety cannot walk away from the responsibility that comes with those promises. This decision is about accountability—not only for Emily and her family, but for every passenger who trusts Uber to get them home safely.”

Judge Stone expressed concern with Uber’s broader approach to rider safety, writing that the company should “learn from this tragic incident” and revise its safety policies and procedures. He warned that if Uber failed to do so, it would proceed “at its own substantial risk.”

The $40 million awarded by Judge Stone provides $20 million each to Carol Normandin and Ken Parker for the wrongful death of their daughter.

After the issuance of the award, Uber fought to keep both the arbitration proceedings and award confidential. It filed a motion and ex parte application against Emily’s parents in Orange County Superior Court seeking to compel their silence. It proposed a settlement agreement that would have prevented Normandin and Parker from making even truthful statements about the company’s connection to Emily’s death, with the threat of a $10 million liquidated damages penalty each time they did. Normandin and Parker refused the blanket confidentiality Uber wanted.

“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. That trust cost our daughter her life,” said Carol Normandin and Ken Parker. “Uber tells millions of people that safety is at the heart of what it does, but when its driver abandoned Emily on the side of a freeway and a judge held the company responsible for her death, Uber fought to keep that decision—and the truth about what happened to Emily—from the public. You cannot claim to put safety first while fighting to silence the families whose lives have been devastated when that promise is broken. Nothing will ever bring Emily back, but we will not allow what happened to her to be hidden. People who trust Uber to get them home safely deserve to know the truth, and they deserve to know that even a company as powerful as Uber can be held accountable when it fails them.”

Emily was a 2022 UCLA graduate, writer, musician, and beloved daughter and sister remembered for her kindness, creativity, and extraordinary compassion. Following her death, her family established The Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to honor her memory and advocate for stronger rideshare safety protections. Her family intends to use proceeds of the case to fund the Foundation.

ABOUT PANISH | SHEA | RAVIPUDI LLP

Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP is a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ law firm representing individuals and families in wrongful death, catastrophic injury, sexual abuse, product liability, mass tort, and business litigation matters. The firm has obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and settlements in United States history and is committed to holding wrongdoers accountable while securing justice for those harmed by the negligence and misconduct of others. For more information, visit panish.law.

ABOUT THE EMILY NORMANDIN-PARKER FOUNDATION

The Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation was established following the death of 23-year-old Emily Amanda Normandin-Parker, who was struck and killed by a vehicle after an Uber driver abandoned her and her friend on a Southern California freeway late at night. Created by her family to honor Emily’s life and legacy, the Foundation works to protect others from preventable harm by advancing corporate accountability and transparency, advocating for stronger rideshare safety protocols and protections, and funding education. The Foundation also provides support and resources for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, turning Emily’s legacy into meaningful action and lasting change. Learn more at eanpf.org.

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