Brazilian courts rule against ride-hailing platforms regarding liability

Brazilian judicial authorities have issued rulings reinforcing the legal responsibility of digital transport platforms for damages occurring during service execution.

A judge in Rio de Janeiro ordered Uber to pay R$ 50,000 in collective moral damages due to the loss of items sent via the ‘Uber Flash’ delivery service. The court ruled that clauses in the platform's Terms and Conditions attempting to exempt the company from liability for lost items are null under the Consumer Defense Code. The magistrate noted that such clauses unfairly transfer the risks of the business to the consumer.

In a separate case, the Court of Justice of Pará upheld a ruling requiring a transport app to indemnify the parents of a passenger killed in an accident caused by a partner driver. The court rejected the company's argument that it acted solely as a technology intermediary. The ruling stated that because the platform manages driver registration, sets usage criteria, and organizes the economic chain of the service, it bears objective responsibility for damages caused to consumers during the service.