A woman who claims in her lawsuit against Lyft Inc. that she leaped out of a car window just moments before her unconscious driver crashed into a parked vehicle in 2021 must undergo arbitration for her allegations, as argued by attorneys representing the ride-hailing company in new court documents.
Lal Finci filed a lawsuit in Santa Monica Superior Court, alleging negligence, negligent hiring, supervision and retention, negligent infliction of emotional distress, employer liability, and breach of contract. On Monday, Lyft’s lawyers filed court papers urging Judge Mark A. Young to grant their motion to compel arbitration, which is scheduled for a hearing on Jan. 26.
According to the court documents of Lyft’s attorneys, Finci could have only used Lyft’s ride-hailing services by accepting their service terms, which were explained to her in an email in December 2020. The terms stated that disputes were to be resolved through arbitration.
“Plaintiff Lal Finci is legally obligated to arbitrate her claims against Lyft regarding the motor vehicle incident because both plaintiff and Lyft agreed to resolve all disputes through arbitration,” state the attorneys in the court documents.
The court documents of Lyft’s attorneys state that Finci accepted Lyft’s terms of service, including their mutual arbitration clause, twice, with the most recent acceptance occurring on the day of the incident that is the subject of her lawsuit.
“Therefore, this court should enforce the agreement between the parties by compelling plaintiff to arbitrate her claims against Lyft and suspending litigation against Lyft until the outcome of the arbitration,” assert the Lyft lawyers in their court papers.
According to Finci’s complaint, she hailed a Lyft ride in the early afternoon of July 16, 2021, to travel from Santa Monica to Rodeo Drive. The suit, filed on July 19, states that the driver informed Finci that his spouse had cancer and he needed to make a stop at a 7-Eleven on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica to buy some items.
The suit further states that the driver returned 15 to 20 minutes later and asked Finci if she was ready for the ride.
However, according to the suit, the driver did not leave immediately until Finci inquired if he was feeling well enough to drive. The suit also claims that he drove recklessly, resulting in another driver shouting at him.
Finci, noticing that the driver’s hands were shaking, requested him to pull over and let her out, but he did not respond, as per the suit.
Moments later, Finci observed that the driver’s eyes were closed, so she reached over and attempted to wake him up, according to the suit.
“He briefly woke up and then passed out again,” states the suit.
Finci believed that the car might crash soon, so she tried to open the back door, but it was locked, the suit asserts. She then rolled down the window and jumped out.
Moments after Finci’s body hit the ground and rolled, she heard a loud crash coming from the driver’s car colliding with a parked vehicle a few hundred feet ahead of her, according to the suit.
Finci claims to have suffered severe physical and emotional harm, as stated in her lawsuit.
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