SANTA MONICA, Calif. – A woman who alleges in her lawsuit against Lyft Inc. that she jumped out of a car window moments before her unconscious driver crashed into a parked vehicle in 2021 must arbitrate her claims, attorneys for the ride-hailing company argue in new court papers.
Lal Finci’s Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit alleges negligence, negligent hiring, supervision and retention, negligent infliction of emotional distress, employer liability and breach of contract. On Monday, Lyft lawyers filed court papers with Judge Mark A. Young urging him to grant their motion to compel arbitration that is scheduled for hearing Jan. 26.
Finci could not have requested or purchased ride-hailing services without consenting to Lyft’s service terms that were explained to her in a December 2020 email explaining that disputes were to be resolved in arbitration, according to the Lyft attorneys’ court papers.
“Plaintiff Lal Finci is required as a matter of law to arbitrate her claims against Lyft arising out of a motor vehicle incident because plaintiff and Lyft agreed to arbitrate all disputes between them,” the company’s attorneys state in their court papers.
Finci accepted Lyft’s terms of service, including its mutual arbitration clause, twice, most recently on the day of the event that is the subject of her lawsuit, according to the Lyft attorneys’ court papers.
“This court should therefore enforce the parties’ agreement by compelling plaintiff to arbitrate her claims against Lyft and staying these proceedings as to Lyft pending the outcome of the arbitration,” the Lyft lawyers maintain in their court papers.
According to Finci’s complaint, she summoned a Lyft ride in the early afternoon of July 16, 2021, to travel from Santa Monica to Rodeo Drive. The driver told Finci that his spouse had cancer and that he needed to stop to buy some things from a 7-Eleven on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, the suit filed July 19 states.
The driver returned 15 to 20 minutes later and asked Finci, “Are you ready for the ride?” according to the suit.
But the driver did not immediately leave until after Finci asked him if he was feeling all right and able to drive, the suit states. However, he drove unsafely and one passerby driver yelled at him, the suit states.
Finci, seeing that her driver’s hands were shaking, asked him to pull over and let her out, but he did not respond, the suit states.
A few moments later, Finci saw that the driver’s eyes were shut, so she reached over and tried to awaken him, according to the suit.
“He momentarily woke up and then passed out again,” the suit states.
Finci thought the car might crash soon and she tried to open the back door of the car, but it was locked, the suit states. She then rolled down the window and jumped out.
Moments after Finci’s body hit and rolled on the ground, she heard a loud crash from the driver’s car crashing into a parked vehicle a few hundred feet ahead of her, the suit states.
Finci suffered severe physical and emotional harm, according to her suit.
