A West Palm Beach woman says she ordered a bottle of vodka on a Saturday night in March, and the delivery ended with a driver forcing her to perform oral sex inside her own home. Identified only as Jane Doe in a lawsuit filed Oct. 8, she is now suing DoorDash, accusing the company of failing to protect customers through its alcohol-delivery procedures.
According to the lawsuit, reported by the Palm Beach Post, the driver entered Jane Doe's home under the guise of verifying her age for the alcohol order, then pushed her to her knees and forced her into the sex act. The suit brings battery and sexual battery claims against the unidentified driver, whom her attorney has referred to as John Doe, and three negligence claims against DoorDash tied to how the driver was selected, supervised and allowed to handle alcohol deliveries. Jane Doe is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and has requested a jury trial.
Jane Doe's attorney, Miami-based Donevan Mallard, told the Post that the incident caused his client physical, psychological and emotional harm, and that she has incurred medical and counseling expenses as a result. The lawsuit does not name the driver; Mallard said he plans to add the name once he and his client learn it. The complaint also does not address whether the assault was reported to or investigated by authorities, or whether any criminal charges are pending.
Lawsuit Targets DoorDash's Age-Verification Setup
Central to the case is an argument about how DoorDash structures in-person alcohol deliveries. Mallard said that by requiring customers to interact directly with drivers to verify their age, DoorDash created a situation with foreseeable safety risks, the Post reported. The lawsuit claims the company should have told customers that drivers do not need to enter their homes, and that it should have trained drivers to complete age checks at the doorway or another safe location instead.
The suit also alleges DoorDash failed to adequately investigate the driver's background, including any criminal history, and failed to monitor him after letting him onto the platform, per the same account. DoorDash's own consumer guidance states that alcohol purchases require in-person delivery and that the recipient's government-issued photo ID must be physically examined and scanned, according to DoorDash's help center, which also specifies that customers must be at least 21 to receive an alcohol order.
Company Background Checks and State Law
DoorDash says all of its drivers must undergo a background check for criminal and traffic violations before being accepted as a Dasher, as noted by the Citizens' Voice. Separately, DoorDash's guidance for drivers states that Dashers delivering alcohol must verify identity and age, assess whether a recipient appears visibly intoxicated, and may reject a delivery when in doubt, according to the company's Dasher support blog. Florida law itself requires that valid proof of a recipient's identity and age be verified and documented at the time any alcoholic beverage is delivered, per Florida Statutes Section 561.57.
DoorDash told the Post it takes the allegations seriously and has zero tolerance for violence of any kind on its platform. The company has previously touted expanded safeguards for alcohol orders nationwide, including what it calls rigorous ID verification, an option for customers to opt out of alcohol delivery altogether, and alcohol-safety resources provided to Dashers, according to a company announcement. That enhanced two-step ID verification process was first piloted in several cities, including Miami, before the wider rollout, the announcement states.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Lawsuits
Jane Doe's case is not an isolated one. In Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed this year sought unspecified damages from DoorDash and its background-check vendor Checkr after a student at Misericordia University was allegedly raped by a driver named Victor David Beriguet-Franco in April 2024, as reported by the Citizens' Voice. That complaint similarly alleged DoorDash failed to adequately screen and supervise its drivers. A related Pennsylvania suit, detailed by the Times Leader, brought 13 civil counts against DoorDash and Beriguet-Franco, with the woman seeking more than $50,000 on each count.
Other cases have raised safety concerns from different angles. In April 2023, Tampa police arrested a man accused of kidnapping and sexually battering a DoorDash driver while she was attempting to make a delivery at a Residence Inn, according to NBC News. And in Northern California, DoorDash permanently banned a driver, identified by prosecutors as Arda Kizilay, after he allegedly forced his way into a woman's home and sexually assaulted her during an alcohol delivery; he was charged with first-degree burglary and sexual battery by restraint, SFGate reported.
In the West Palm Beach case, key questions remain unanswered in the public record. The lawsuit does not identify the driver, does not specify whether the alleged assault was reported to or investigated by law enforcement, and does not state whether criminal charges are pending. Mallard has said he intends to amend the complaint with the driver's identity once it becomes known.
