Lyft Hit With $50 Million Lawsuit After Woman Alleges Driver Sexually Assaulted Her

A North Carolina woman who says she was sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver while riding home from work has sued the rideshare company, alleging that Lyft bears responsibility for allowing the driver onto its platform and putting him in contact with passengers.

Diamond Cannady filed the civil action Tuesday in Durham County after a March 31 ride with Ryan James Davey, a Cary man who was later arrested on charges that include felony kidnapping, sexual battery, indecent exposure and driving while impaired. In the separate civil case against Lyft, Cannady is seeking $50 million in damages.

Cannady claims Davey drove her to a secluded area, grabbed her face, forcibly kissed her and exposed himself during the ride. Arrest warrants also state that officers found an open container of alcohol in the vehicle. Davey was arrested the following day and has remained in custody while the criminal case moves forward.

Davey had a DWI conviction dating to 2015, according to Cannady’s attorneys. His driving history has become part of the dispute over whether Lyft should have allowed him to transport passengers.

North Carolina requires rideshare companies to conduct criminal background checks, review driving histories and check applicants against the National Sex Offender RegistrySex Offender Registry and Sex Offender Registration LawsA sex offender registry is a government system that requires people convicted of specified sex offenses to provide identifying and other information to authorities, with some information often made publicly available. Federal and state law governs registration requirements, which can differ significantly by jurisdiction.Read more →. State law also bars applicants who were convicted within the previous seven years of driving under the influence, certain sexual offenses, violent crimes and several other specified offenses.

A 2015 DWI would fall outside that seven-year disqualification period once the required time had passed. The earlier conviction alone would not establish that Lyft violated North Carolina’s screening rules when Davey was permitted to drive.

North Carolina law also allows negligent hiring or retention claims in some circumstances. To succeed, an injured person generally must show that the company knew or should have known the person was unfit for the work and that the risk was connected to the injury that followed. Meeting a statutory screening requirement does not necessarily resolve whether a company acted reasonably in selecting or continuing to use a driver.

State law presumes rideshare drivers are independent contractors rather than employees. That status can limit when a company is held responsible for a driver’s conduct, but it does not automatically bar claims based on the company’s own alleged negligence in selecting or retaining the driver.

Lyft says drivers are subject to background screening and continuing criminal and driving record checks. The company said it permanently removed Davey from its platform after learning of the allegations and said Tuesday that violence, dangerous behavior and inappropriate conduct have no place on its service.

Davey was indicted July 28 on charges stemming from Cannady’s March 31 ride. Cannady filed the civil lawsuit against Lyft on Aug. 11 in Durham County.