An arbitrator has ordered Uber and driver Vu Tran to pay $40 million to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old woman who was fatally struck by another vehicle after Tran left her and a friend beside an Orange County freeway in August 2023. Retired Judge Richard A. Stone, serving as arbitrator, rejected Uber's argument that the company was not responsible for the driver's conduct.
According to CBS Los Angeles, Normandin-Parker and her friend, Luna Moore, had ordered an Uber home after a night out when Moore vomited in the vehicle, leading to a dispute over a cleaning fee. Tran pulled over on State Route 73 and made both women leave instead of continuing to their destination. Normandin-Parker was struck and killed as the Uber drove away. Moore was separately awarded $300,000 in the arbitration, according to Quartz.
A Deadly Drop-Off at a Freeway Gore Point
Stone found that Tran left the passengers at a gore point, the triangular area separating freeway traffic from an off-ramp, rather than exiting safely at nearby MacArthur Boulevard, according to ABC News. The decision described the location as an unsafe place to leave passengers because it is intended to separate traffic flows and is not designed for pedestrians. The supplied accounts do not establish a separate CHP or state-vehicle-code finding beyond the arbitrator's assessment.
GPS tracking data presented during the five-day arbitration proceeding showed that Tran drove near Normandin-Parker's body after she was struck, exited at the next ramp, and contacted Uber to request a cleaning fee rather than calling 911 or attempting to render aid, the same Quartz account states. Stone noted that Tran demonstrated far more concern for his vehicle than for passenger safety. Family attorneys also introduced evidence that Uber had previously received rider complaints about Tran's driving, including one customer who called a ride with him “the least safe” they had experienced and another who wrote simply that “he cannot drive,” as reported by ABC News.
What public safety data can show
According to Caltrans, the agency's annual state-highway crash reports include county-level pedestrian fatality and injury data alongside broader crash statistics. Those reports provide a way to examine pedestrian harm on Orange County's state highways, although the supplied information does not provide a specific Orange County total or identify a single leading risk. For rideshare oversight, the California Public Utilities Commission publicly provides transportation-network-company annual-report data covering accidents and incidents, assaults and harassment, driver training, law-enforcement citations and suspended drivers. The categories show what regulators require companies to report, but the supplied data does not establish a statewide pattern or trend for this case.
Arbitrator Rejects Uber's Proposition 22 Defense
Uber argued that Tran was an independent contractor under California law and that the company therefore should not be responsible for his actions, per CBS Los Angeles. Stone rejected that position, finding in his written decision that Uber operates as a common carrier under California law and has a nondelegable duty to protect passengers. The arbitrator also found that Proposition 22, the 2020 ballot measure allowing gig platforms to classify drivers as independent contractors, did not shield Uber from vicarious liability for negligent conduct, according to a Business Wire release on the decision.
The award consisted entirely of compensatory damages, with $20 million assigned to each of Normandin-Parker's parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker; Stone declined to award punitive damages, according to the Orange County Register. Uber has said it disagrees with the decision and believes the arbitrator was wrong to hold the company responsible, according to CBS Los Angeles. The family was represented by Rahul Ravipudi, Ian Samson and Matt Coe-Odess of Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP.
Parents Reject Gag Clause, Push for New Rules
Ken Parker said Uber and the driver did not take responsibility for what happened to his daughter, per CBS Los Angeles. Carol Normandin described the rideshare business model itself as dangerous, the outlet reported. Before the arbitration award, family attorneys said Uber had proposed a settlement agreement that would have required Normandin and Parker to pay $10 million for each instance they publicly discussed the case — a gag clause the parents rejected in order to fund rideshare safety advocacy, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Normandin-Parker grew up in Laguna Beach and studied creative writing at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana before majoring in theater at UCLA, graduating in 2022, per the UCLA Alumni Association. Her parents have since created the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to honor her memory and to advocate for stronger rideshare safety regulations, including stricter rules governing how and where drivers can drop off passengers on highways. It remains unclear whether Uber will attempt to challenge the binding arbitration award in civil court.
