Privacy News Shareholders sue Uber’s board over sexual assaults, other incidents

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Content source

https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/22/shareholders-sue-ubers-board-over-sexual-assaults-other-incidents/

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 Khosrowshahi, 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.

 

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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 Khosrowshahi, 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.

This is describing a shareholder “derivative” lawsuit, where a shareholder sues company leaders (directors/officers) on behalf of the company, alleging leadership failures harmed the corporation.

What the lawsuit is alleging (in plain terms)

• Uber’s management and board allegedly prioritized growth/profit over compliance and safety.
• The complaint claims the board ignored repeated internal/external warnings about compliance and safety gaps.
• It points to alleged downstream consequences (including large volumes of claims/lawsuits related to driver misconduct, disability access issues, and consumer-subscription concerns).

What the plaintiffs are asking for

• Personal financial liability for certain executives/directors (repayment to Uber for alleged harm).
• Return (“clawback”) of some compensation.
• Court-ordered governance changes: stronger oversight, compliance controls, reporting, and monitoring.

What this does (and does not) mean right now

• These are allegations in a newly filed complaint, not findings of fact.
• Uber’s statement indicates it plans to challenge the framing and underlying claims, and it notes other related lawsuits have been disputed in court.
• Derivative suits are common with large public companies; many are dismissed, narrowed, or settled with governance reforms and/or insurance-funded payments rather than direct admissions of wrongdoing.

Practical “what to watch next”

• Whether the court dismisses the case early (motions to dismiss are common in derivative litigation).
• Any specific governance/compliance reforms ordered or negotiated (these often matter more than headlines).
• Disclosures in future SEC filings about material litigation risk, reserves, or settlements.

If you want to evaluate it beyond the news summary, the most reliable source is the actual court filing (the complaint) and subsequent docket entries, because media articles often compress or selectively quote claims from one side.