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US Sues Lyft for $53m Over Disabled Riders’ RightsBusiness
The US Justice Department has sued Lyft, saying the ride-hailing firm repeatedly denied rides to passengers with disabilities and is seeking $53 million.
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The United States Justice Department has sued Lyft, accusing the ride-hailing company of discriminating against passengers with disabilities and seeking $53 million for people who say they were refused rides.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday, 9 November, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. It alleges that Lyft and its drivers repeatedly denied transport to passengers travelling with service animals or using stowable wheelchairs and other mobility devices, charged cancellation fees after those refusals, and failed to make reasonable modifications such as allowing front-seat access when a passenger needed it for a mobility disability.
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According to the Justice Department, the $53 million would go to individuals with disabilities who were allegedly discriminated against and who submitted complaints to Lyft or to the department. The government is also seeking a civil penalty, a court order requiring the company to change its policies and improve driver training, and a jury trial.
What the law says
The lawsuit alleges that Lyft violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which bars private transport companies from discriminating on the basis of disability. The Justice Department had already told Lyft in September 2026 that it believed the company was breaching the law over accessibility for passengers with disabilities, a warning Lyft disclosed in its quarterly filing.
Lyft said it disagreed with the allegations in the lawsuit. The case is a civil complaint, not a settlement or a finding of liability, and the company will have the chance to contest the claims in court.
The action follows a similar lawsuit the Justice Department filed against Uber in September 2025, in which it sought $125 million for disabled riders. US Attorney Craig H. Missakian, for the Northern District of California, is leading the Lyft case.
For riders who rely on service animals or wheelchairs, the case is about more than money. If the government succeeds, Lyft could be forced to change how its drivers handle accessibility requests, how it deals with cancellations, and how it trains the people behind the wheel.
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