Three years after Emily Normandin-Parker was killed on a Southern California freeway, her parents have secured a $40 million arbitration award against Uber and the driver who was transporting her the night she died. According to the July 20 arbitration award, retired California judge Richard A. Stone, serving as arbitrator, awarded Emily’s mother, Carol Normandin, and father, Ken Parker, $20 million each and found Uber and driver Vu Tran jointly and severally liable.
The Uber arbitration award stems from the early morning hours of August 12, 2023. According to the award, Emily, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate, and her friend Luna Moore requested an Uber after a night out. The arbitrator wrote that both women had been drinking and that “Moore was intoxicated to the point of vomiting on herself and her surroundings.”
According to the arbitration findings, Tran stopped at a gore point on State Route 73 after Moore became sick inside the vehicle. A gore point is the triangular section of roadway separating traffic lanes near an exit or entrance. Stone described the location as unsafe and illegal and found that Tran could have taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit instead.
The Uber arbitration award states that Tran and Moore argued “for minutes” about a cleaning fee while Moore showed “no concern for Normandin-Parker’s whereabouts despite knowing she had exited the vehicle and was intoxicated.” Stone concluded, “[The driver] showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers.”
Emily ultimately entered the freeway and was struck and killed. According to the same award, GPS evidence showed that “when [the driver] departed the scene he unavoidably drove close to in the near vicinity of Normandin-Parker’s body on the freeway before pulling off at the very next exit to call Uber to insist on immediately recovering the cleaning fee he had just argued about with Moore at the gore point.”
The decision also went beyond the actions of the driver. According to the Uber arbitration award, Stone rejected Uber’s argument that it was simply a technology platform connecting independent drivers with passengers. He found Uber functions as a common carrier with a safety duty to passengers because the company offers transportation through its app, controls key parts of the rider experience, sets prices, and profits from rides.
Stone also rejected Uber’s argument involving Proposition 22. As CalMatters reported, California voters approved Proposition 22 in 2020, allowing qualifying app-based transportation and delivery companies to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. Stone concluded that the measure did not shield Uber from vicarious liability for Tran’s conduct.
The legal fight also focused on what Uber knew about the driver before Emily’s death. According to Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, which represents Emily’s parents, evidence introduced during arbitration showed Uber had previously received complaints about Tran’s driving. The firm said riders had raised concerns about unsafe conduct before the fatal trip. Uber has said Tran had a valid license, passed a background check, and completed thousands of trips without an unsafe drop-off, freeway stop, or rider injury.
Uber confirmed to PEOPLE that “the driver no longer has access to Uber.”
The company also disputed the Uber arbitration award while expressing sympathy for Emily’s family. In a statement reported by Good Morning America, Uber said, “No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family.”
“While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” the statement continued.
Uber also said, “We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years, through new technology, policies and safeguards informed by safety experts, including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations.” The company added, “Our work on safety is never finished, and we will continue looking for ways to help make the platform safer.”
Emily’s parents have publicly challenged Uber’s position. During their September 17 appearance on Good Morning America, they were asked whether they believed Uber put profits ahead of their daughter’s safety and answered “absolutely.”
In a statement released through Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, Normandin and Parker said, “Emily did everything Uber tells riders to do—she made the responsible choice not to drive, and we trusted Uber to get her home safely. That trust cost our daughter her life.”
The family’s attorneys have also accused Uber of trying to “compel their silence” after the award. According to Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, Uber filed a motion and ex parte application after the arbitration and proposed an agreement that included restrictions on what the parents could publicly say about the company. Parker told Good Morning America that the proposed agreement included a $10 million penalty tied to disparaging statements. Uber has continued to publicly dispute the finding that it bears legal responsibility for the death.
Under the final Uber arbitration award, Moore received $300,000 for her claims against Uber and Tran, while no punitive damages were awarded.
For Emily’s parents, however, the case has remained centered on their daughter rather than the money. During their interview, Normandin told Good Morning America, “Her laugh was contagious.”
Parker added, “She would laugh, and then she would snort.”
Emily was a 2022 UCLA graduate, writer, and musician. After her death, her family created the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation “to honor her memory and advocate for stronger rideshare safety protections,” and the family plans to use proceeds from the case to support the foundation’s work.
