ALTON, Ill. and NEW YORK – Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s leading mass tort litigation firms dedicated to holding corporations responsible for wrongdoing, today announced that attorney and partner Ellyn H. Hurd has been named to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee (PSC) in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) consolidating rideshare sexual assault lawsuits against Uber in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. The cases will be heard by Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer.
“We’re steadfast in our commitment to fight for justice for the countless victims who have experienced sexual assault and misconduct while trusting rideshare platforms with their safety,” said Ellyn Hurd, partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy. “It’s a privilege to be selected for this significant role on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the joint litigation against Uber.”
There have been thousands of rideshare sexual assault victims in the United States, and currently, there are at least 79 assault lawsuits filed or pending against Uber. These lawsuits highlight the range of physical and emotional injuries that can be caused by a rideshare driver, and Hurd has helped hundreds of victims of sexual abuse secure justice from the institutions responsible.
In the firm’s Complex Litigation Department, Hurd focuses her practice on child sex abuse cases, multidistrict pharmaceutical cases and a variety of financial loss class actions and has tirelessly worked to help secure billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for victims and communities. Hurd served as one of the lead lawyers in a consolidated sexual abuse case that involved over 150 Haitian nationals against Fairfield University, the Society of Jesus of New England and others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Hurd has also played an integral part in the National Prescription Opiate Multidistrict Litigation and served on the trial team that successfully litigated the nation’s first opioid case to be heard before a state jury, securing a liability verdict against the remaining defendants. Hurd was also an essential member of the trial team that helped secure a $230 million settlement with Walgreens for the city of San Francisco over the company’s role in the opioid epidemic. The Uber Rideshare Multidistrict Litigation will be heard in the same court in California.
Since its inception, Simmons Hanly Conroy has successfully helped tens of thousands of clients across the country harmed by corporate wrongdoing.
