As of October 19, 2026, no Uber or Lyft settlement is accepting claims. The newest money is Lyft's $272.5 million California driver settlement, announced October 1, 2026, which still needs court approval and has no payout date yet. The New York and Massachusetts driver settlements have already paid out, and Uber's passenger sexual assault cases are still being tried one test case at a time.
Most searches for an "Uber settlement" are about one of three things: money for drivers who were treated as independent contractors, lawsuits by passengers who were assaulted, and injury claims after a rideshare crash. This guide covers each one and is updated as the cases move.
At a glance: Uber and Lyft settlements and lawsuits
| Case | Money | Status in October 2026 | Can you file a claim? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyft, California drivers | $272.5 million, at least $237 million of it to drivers | Announced October 1, 2026; waiting for court approval | No claim form; eligible drivers will be contacted after approval |
| Uber, California drivers | None yet | Still in litigation in San Francisco Superior Court | No |
| New York drivers | $328 million ($290 million Uber, $38 million Lyft) | Payments began in August 2024; claim deadlines passed in early 2025 | No, closed |
| Massachusetts drivers | $175 million, at least $140 million of it to drivers | Checks went out starting September 2025 | No claim was ever needed |
| Uber passenger sexual assault cases | Individual verdicts and settlements only | 4,916 federal cases pending; next test trial January 2027 | Individual lawsuits only |
| FTC and 21 states v. Uber (Uber One) | None yet | Trial set for September 20, 2027 | No |
Is there an Uber settlement I can claim right now?
No. As of October 19, 2026, there is no open Uber or Lyft class action or government settlement that is accepting claims. The New York claim deadlines passed in early 2025, Massachusetts drivers never had to file a claim, and Lyft's new California settlement has no claim process yet. Nothing has been paid out of the Uber One subscription case or the passenger assault cases as a group.
If a website, text or email asks you to "claim your Uber settlement" today and wants your bank details or a fee, treat it as a scam. Real settlement administrators are appointed by a court or a government agency, never charge a fee, and are named on the official agency page for the settlement.
Lyft's $272.5 million California settlement: who gets paid and when
On October 1, 2026, the California Labor Commissioner announced that Lyft agreed to pay $272.5 million to resolve the state's driver misclassification case, which was filed in 2020. At least $237,075,000 of that, about 87 percent, is set aside for drivers.
- Who is covered: people who drove for Lyft in California from April 2016 through December 15, 2020.
- How payments are figured: by the hours and miles each driver logged in that period. More than 1,600 drivers who filed their own wage claims with the Labor Commissioner get their mileage doubled.
- Do you need to file a claim? No claim form has been announced. A settlement administrator will contact eligible drivers after the court approves the deal.
- When will it pay? There is no payout date yet. The settlement still needs approval from San Francisco Superior Court, and Lyft is allowed to pay the total over four years.
Uber, the other defendant in the same case, has not settled. Its part of the case is still being litigated, and no trial date has been published.
When did the New York and Massachusetts settlements pay out?
New York: $328 million
The New York Attorney General announced settlements with Uber ($290 million) and Lyft ($38 million) on November 2, 2023. The money repaid drivers for New York sales tax and Black Car Fund fees that the companies had deducted from driver pay: Uber deductions from November 2014 to May 2017, and Lyft deductions from October 2015 to July 2017. The settlements also set minimum pay of $26 an hour for drivers outside New York City and paid sick leave of one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours a year.
Payments began in August 2024. The claim deadlines passed in early 2025, so the New York fund is closed to new claims.
Massachusetts: $175 million
On June 27, 2024, the Massachusetts Attorney General settled with Uber ($148 million) and Lyft ($27 million), for $175 million in total. At least $140 million of it went to drivers who gave rides in Massachusetts between July 14, 2020 and July 2, 2024 and drove more than casually. Drivers did not have to file a claim. The settlement administrator, Rust Consulting, mailed notices dated August 1, 2025, and checks went out starting in September 2025.
Payments were figured by the mile: 10 cents a mile, or 6 cents a mile for drivers with higher average hourly earnings. The official notice to drivers says the payments are reimbursements of vehicle expenses and are not subject to tax reporting or withholding. Details are on the Attorney General's settlement page.
How much will I get from the Uber settlement?
For driver settlements, the amount comes from a formula based on how much you drove in the covered period, not a flat payment. Massachusetts paid by the mile. New York repaid the specific tax and fee deductions taken from each driver's fares. Lyft's California settlement will pay by hours and miles driven. Full-time drivers in the covered period receive far more than occasional drivers, and very occasional drivers may receive nothing.
For passengers, there is no settlement fund. A passenger who was assaulted or injured is compensated through an individual lawsuit or insurance claim, and the value depends on the injuries and the evidence in that case.
Uber sexual assault lawsuits: 2026 trial results
More than 4,900 passenger sexual assault lawsuits against Uber are pending in a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 3084) before Judge Charles R. Breyer, according to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's October 1, 2026 report. The court is trying a series of test cases, called bellwethers, to show how juries value these claims:
- Phoenix, February 5, 2026: the jury awarded $8.5 million, finding the driver acted as Uber's apparent agent. It rejected the negligence and design defect claims and awarded no punitive damages. Uber's request for a new trial was still pending in October 2026.
- Charlotte, April 20, 2026: the jury found the driver committed battery, and the court entered a $5,000 judgment. Uber has appealed.
- Austin, October 2, 2026: Uber settled the third bellwether, tried in federal court in Austin, on confidential terms after the jury had been seated.
- Next: the next bellwether trial is scheduled for January 2027.
In California state court, a jury in September 2025 found Uber negligent but decided its negligence was not a substantial factor in the harm, a win for Uber. Lyft's federal sexual assault cases were consolidated in February 2026 (MDL No. 3171) and are at an earlier stage, with no trials yet. For more detail, see our page on Uber sexual assault lawsuits.
Other lawsuits against Uber and Lyft
FTC and 21 states v. Uber (Uber One)
The Federal Trade Commission sued Uber in April 2025 over its billing and cancellation practices for the Uber One subscription. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia joined an amended complaint in December 2025. A bench trial is currently set for September 20, 2027. There is no settlement and no refund process yet.
Justice Department disability lawsuits
The Justice Department's 2021 lawsuit over wait-time fees charged to riders with disabilities settled in July 2022. Uber credited about 65,000 rider accounts and paid $1,738,500 to riders who had complained to Uber and $500,000 to riders who had complained to the Justice Department. In September 2025, the Justice Department filed a new lawsuit alleging that Uber drivers refused riders with service animals and riders who use wheelchairs. That case is set for a jury trial in February 2028.
Hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash in Houston?
A crash claim is a separate case from the driver settlements above, and it is the one most injured people need help with. Texas law sets the minimum insurance that has to be in place, and the amount depends on what the driver was doing in the app when the crash happened:
| What the driver was doing | Minimum coverage Texas requires |
|---|---|
| Had accepted a ride, was driving to the pickup, or had a rider in the car | $1 million total liability per incident (Texas Insurance Code § 1954.053) |
| Logged in and waiting for a request | $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injuries, plus $25,000 for property damage (§ 1954.052) |
| Logged out of the app | Only the driver's own auto policy |
That is why the app status at the moment of the crash matters so much. Save the trip receipt, take screenshots of the app, and photograph the vehicles before they are moved. In Texas you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file an injury lawsuit (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003).
If you were hurt as a passenger, as the other driver, or as a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a rideshare car in the Houston area, our Houston car accident lawyers can tell you which policy applies and what the claim is worth. For typical payout ranges, see our guide to Lyft accident settlement amounts.
Do I need a lawyer for the Uber and Lyft driver settlements?
No. You do not need a lawyer to receive money from a government driver settlement, and you should never pay anyone to file a claim for you. A lawyer matters when the claim is your own: a sexual assault by a driver, or an injury in a rideshare crash. Those cases are built one at a time, and much of the key evidence, such as trip records, app data and insurance information, is held by the company.
Talk to a Houston lawyer about an Uber or Lyft injury
If you were assaulted by a rideshare driver or hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash, contact The Nguyen Law Firm or call (713) 747-7777 for a free, confidential case review. You can also learn how our Houston personal injury lawyers handle these cases.
This article provides general information, not legal advice. Settlement terms, deadlines and court schedules change; check the official settlement or court notice for your situation.
Call (713) 747-7777