Uber was ordered to pay $40 million following the 2023 death of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old woman who was struck by a vehicle after her intoxicated condition led her driver to illegally eject her from a car on a California freeway. Judge Richard Stone rejected Uber's claim that it was merely a technology platform and therefore not liable for the driver's negligence, finding the driver had recklessly endangered his passengers.