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Rape Victim Settles Lawsuit Against Uber

A rape victim on Monday settled her lawsuit against Uber and two former top executives for allegedly stealing her medical records to discredit her traumatic story.

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) -  A rape victim on Monday settled her lawsuit against Uber and two former top executives for allegedly stealing her medical records to discredit her traumatic story.

The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, sued Uber in June 2017, claiming that after she was “brutally raped” by an Uber driver in New Delhi, India, in December 2014, Uber executives “violated her a second time by unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records."

She accused three former Uber executives, including Uber founder Travis Kalanick, of defamation, publicly disclosing private facts and other charges related to the alleged theft of her medical files.

In October, Doe voluntarily dropped her suit against Emil Michael, Uber's former senior vice president of business, after he refused to delay a motion to dismiss hearing while the other parties negotiated a settlement. By dismissing the case without prejudice, Doe left open the door to re-file litigation against Michael.

Meanwhile, Doe continued to negotiate a settlement with Uber, Kalanick and Eric Alexander, Uber's former president of business in Asia, who allegedly traveled to New Dehli to obtain her medical records. Alexander was fired in June 2017 after Doe filed her lawsuit.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a joint stipulation to dismiss the case with prejudice.

Attorneys for Doe and Uber did not respond to requests for comment Monday, but both parties informed the judge in a December 2017 court filing that "a settlement agreement has been reached and the parties anticipate the case will be dismissed."

Terms of the settlement are confidential.

Doe claimed in her lawsuit that “Alexander, Kalanick and Michael discussed the records among themselves and with other staff at Uber, speculating that plaintiff had made up the brutal rape in collusion with a rival of Uber in India in order to undermine Uber’s business.”

Doe’s rapist, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was convicted by an Indian court and sentenced to life in prison in November 2015, according to the Indian news website Firstpost.

Press coverage of the incident captured international headlines and fueled ongoing safety concerns about whether Uber was properly vetting its drivers.

Doe was represented by Jeanne Christensen, with Wigdor LLP in New York. Uber was represented by Daniel Bookin, with O’Melveny & Myers in San Francisco.

Uber spokesman Matthew Wing declined to comment.

Follow @NicholasIovino
Categories / Business, Courts, Personal Injury

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