A California arbitrator has ordered Uber and its driver, Vu Tran, to pay $40 million to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate killed in 2023. Retired judge Richard A. Stone issued the ruling, holding both parties jointly and severally liable for the tragic incident on State Route 73. The award includes $20 million each to Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, along with $300,000 for Moore, the friend who was present during the ordeal.
The night began innocently enough, with Normandin-Parker and Luna Moore heading home after a night out. Moore became ill during the ride, prompting Tran to stop the vehicle in a "gore point"—a hazardous triangular zone where freeway lanes diverge. Instead of proceeding to the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit, Tran argued with Moore over a cleaning fee and ordered both women out into the active traffic lanes. Normandin-Parker, who was intoxicated, wandered into the path of a passing car and was killed instantly while the rideshare vehicle drove away.
GPS data later revealed a chilling detail: after leaving the scene, Tran’s car passed near Normandin-Parker’s body before he exited the vehicle to contact Uber about the cleaning fee. Stone noted in the findings that Tran "showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers." The arbitrator rejected the driver’s defense that the victim’s intoxication relieved him of duty, ruling instead that Uber acted as a common carrier with a non-delegable duty of care.
The family was not interested in a quiet payout. They rejected an initial settlement offer from Uber that included a strict confidentiality clause backed by a $10 million penalty for any breach. "We turned it down because we would never accept that kind of condition. The case was never about money in the first place," Ken Parker said. The family has since established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to push for stronger safety protocols for rideshare passengers.
Uber has not accepted the verdict. In a public statement, the company stated it respected the arbitration process but believed Stone was wrong to hold Uber legally responsible for the events. "Our thoughts remain with the family," the statement read. Uber confirmed Tran no longer has access to the platform and said it has since updated driver guidance regarding unsafe drop-off points, though the legal battle over corporate liability remains unresolved.