Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Lyft agrees to US$25M settlement with shareholders over safety-related allegations

In this April 30, 2020 file photo, Kia Neros that are part of the Lyft ridesharing fleet sit unused in a lot near Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) In this April 30, 2020 file photo, Kia Neros that are part of the Lyft ridesharing fleet sit unused in a lot near Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Share

Lyft has agreed to a US$25 million settlement with shareholders over allegations that it failed to adequately disclose threats to its reputation and business ahead of going public.

The "misstatements and omissions" before its initial public offering include not disclosing the "existential risk" presented by reports of drivers assaulting passengers on the platform, as well as safety issues concerning its bikeshare business.

The preliminary settlement agreement, detailed in a court filing Thursday, is pending approval by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. of the Northern District of California. Notably, the money would go to shareholders, not directly to the individuals who've been victim to and reported such incidents.

Lyft, which continues to deny the allegations according to the filing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The securities suit, first filed in 2019 after the company , alleged a disconnect between Lyft's public image and its handling of sexual assault incidents.

"Lyft cultivated a brand image as a safer, more socially conscious rideshare alternative with a focus on appealing to female passengers," Thursday's filing reads. "After the IPO, however, scores of reports came to light of Lyft drivers sexually assaulting their passengers. Dozens of individuals brought claims against Lyft related to driver sexual misconduct in the months following the IPO."

The shareholders say Lyft failed to disclose this in its IPO registration paperwork.

Lyft ultimately released its in October 2021 in which it disclosed it received 4,158 reports of sexual assault on its platform from 2017 to 2019. The disclosure came more than three years after Lyft and its rival Uber committed to putting out safety reports disclosing incidents of sexual assault and abuse on their platforms after a into the issue.

Both companies continue to face a number of legal claims from individuals over their alleged safety incidents on their platforms. A small number of claims that are slated to go to trial through a coordinated proceeding later this year.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

W5 Investigates

W5 Investigates What it's like to interview a narco

Drug smuggling is the main industry for Mexican cartels, but migrant smuggling is turning into a financial windfall. In this fourth installment of CTV W5's 'Narco Jungle: The Death Train,' Avery Haines is in Juarez where she speaks with one of the human smugglers known as 'coyotes.'

A B.C. man has been ordered to pay a total of $4,000 to a Coquitlam company and its two owners because of a negative review he posted on Google.

An Ontario family was planning a religious trip to Saudi Arabia that included 10 people, but when they were checking-in for their flights, the family discovered some of their tickets were fake.

Local Spotlight

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Stay Connected