A fight between an Uber driver and a passenger was the reason for the Federal District and Territories Court (TJDFT) to order the company to pay R $ 4,000 in moral damages. The racing platform per application appealed to the second instance, claiming that it was not responsible for the service and posture of the driver. Uber’s appeal was rejected by the court.
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The decision is part of the 4th Special Civil Court of Brasilia. According to judge Oriana Piske’s order, Uber must indemnify a passenger who fought and was driven against her will to the police station.
Uber driver arrested victim in car
The fight began after the woman noticed that she had confused the method of payment. She chose to pay for the race using cash instead of her credit card. When the trip was completed by the driver, the passenger had no way to pay for the race, and asked him to charge the expense on the next trip.
However, the driver refused to leave the passenger without payment. He did not let the woman out of the car, and ended up taking her against his will to the police station to resolve the matter.
Panicked, the passenger reports that she started screaming asking to get out of the car. She called the police against the driver, and also filed a complaint with Uber; the victim reports that, during the going to the police station, suffered racial injury and was offended numerous times by the driver partner of the application.
Uber refused to provide victim assistance
At the police station, the passenger’s sister had to pay the price of the race. Complaining to Uber, the victim heard from the company that he was “not able to provide any assistance related to the incident.” The woman was even instructed by agents to make a formal complaint to the platform, and not open a BO on the case.
After the analysis of the incident, Judge Piske found that there is an option to leave a pending race payment, and it can be added in the amount of the next trip. “In this way, I understand that the request of the author to leave pending the value of the race is not out of the possibilities offered by the aft”, says the magistrate of the TJDFT.
The initial request for moral compensation made by the victim was R$ 30,000. The ruling is found, in part, the victim’s request for the fine to be imposed on Uber, but decreases the amount to R $ 4,000.
Uber’s appeal in court is rejected
But Uber appealed the ruling in the second instance. The platform claimed that there is “passive illegitimacy” in the case, dismissing the possibility that it was related to the care and conduct of the driver.
However, the 2nd Recursal Panel of The Special Courts of the Federal District denied the appeal: the judgment of magistrates, including the rapporteur of the case, Judge Ana Cláudia Loiola de Morais Mendes, says that the consumer places his trust in Uber in the expectation that the platform regulates the quality of the service.
