Detroit Pension Fund Sues Uber Over Safety and Compliance Failures

A lawsuit led by a Detroit pension fund accuses Uber management and its board of putting profits ahead of compliance and safety, decisions that have exposed the company and its shareholders to risk.

The lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, alleges that Uber is a “serial compliance offender” that has “knowingly” cut corners. This lack of compliance culture has led to thousands of lawsuits by victims who have alleged sexual assault and harassment by drivers, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit, which names CEO Dara Khosrowshari, claims board members breached their fiduciary duty to the company and its shareholders by ignoring repeated warnings of compliance and safety failures. The plaintiffs want Uber’s leaders to personally compensate the company for alleged harm, return certain compensation they received, and implement stronger oversight and compliance measures.

“The victims of this lack of compliance culture include sexual assault and harassment victims, customers with disabilities, and unwary consumers looking to subscribe to Uber One,” the complaint reads.

Uber pushed back on the accusations in the lawsuit.

“This suit ignores important facts and is based on misleading, false narratives from other meritless lawsuits that we have already addressed publicly and in the courtroom,” an Uber spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

It’s not unusual for companies like Uber to face derivative lawsuits, when a shareholder sues the company’s directors on behalf of the corporation. Shareholders have filed such lawsuits against Adobe, Apple, and Intel this year, for instance.