Second Uber Assault Loss Signals Platform Liability Reckoning

A federal jury verdict earlier this week holding Uber Technologies Inc. liable in a sexual battery case adds to a list of major losses for technology companies, indicating a broader reckoning for platforms.

A North Carolina federal jury found the ride-share company responsible for the battery committed by a driver who placed his hand on a female passenger’s thigh, and awarded her $5,000 in damages. It was the second loss for Uber in a federal case based on passenger sexual assault.

In the first, an Arizona federal jury awarded $8.5 million in damages to a woman who said her Uber ...