# Arbitrator Orders Uber to Pay $40 Million to Parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, 23, Left on SR-73 and Struck After Driver Ejected Passengers > Retired Judge Richard A. Stone, sitting as arbitrator, awarded $40.3 million to the family of Emily Normandin-Parker, 23, killed on SR-73 after Uber driver Vu Tran ejected her at a freeway gore point; Uber disputes its legal liability. No new developments have emerged since the award was made public on September 17, 2026. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/uber-arbitration-award-normandin-parker-sr73-2026-09 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/uber-arbitration-award-normandin-parker-sr73-2026-09.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/uber-arbitration-award-normandin-parker-sr73-2026-09 - Status: developing - As of: 2026-09-28T23:05:26.729+00:00 - Started: 2026-09-17T19:38:00+00:00 - Cities: Newport Beach - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** Decedent Emily Normandin-Parker, 23 (UCLA graduate); parents Carol Normandin and Ken Parker (award recipients); passenger Luna Moore; Uber driver Vu Tran; arbitrator retired Judge Richard A. Stone; plaintiff's counsel Ian Samson of Panish Shea Ravipudi. **What:** A $40.3 million arbitration award against Uber and driver Vu Tran for the August 2023 death of passenger Emily Normandin-Parker, who was struck by traffic on SR-73 after being ordered out of the vehicle at a freeway gore point. **Where:** State Route 73 gore point near the MacArthur Boulevard exit, Newport Beach, Orange County, California. **When:** Underlying incident: August 12, 2023, approximately 1 a.m. Parents and Moore filed suit in Orange County Superior Court in September 2023. Five-day arbitration concluded July 2026; award made public September 17, 2026. **Why:** Stone found that Tran illegally stopped at a freeway gore point, demanded a cleaning fee after a passenger became ill, and ejected both passengers onto the freeway rather than exiting safely — and that Uber bore vicarious liability for that conduct despite its Proposition 22 independent-contractor classification argument. ## Narrative ## Current Status The arbitration award remains the operative development in this matter. Retired Judge Richard A. Stone, sitting as private arbitrator, issued a $40.3 million decision against Uber and driver Vu Tran — made public September 17, 2026 — following a five-day proceeding. No court filings, appeals, or statements have been reported since that date. The situation continues to develop in the legal sphere; no new evidence has emerged as of September 28, 2026. ## The Incident At approximately 1 a.m. on August 12, 2023, Tran picked up Emily Normandin-Parker and her friend Luna Moore after a night out. When Moore became ill and vomited, Tran stopped the vehicle illegally in a gore point on State Route 73 near the MacArthur Boulevard exit in Newport Beach rather than using the nearby off-ramp. According to Stone's findings, Tran demanded a cleaning fee and ordered both women out of the vehicle. Normandin-Parker, 23, a UCLA graduate, was subsequently struck by traffic and killed. ## The Arbitration Award Stone found Uber and Tran **jointly and severally liable**. The award allocates $20 million to each of Normandin-Parker's parents — Carol Normandin and Ken Parker — and $300,000 to Moore. The family was represented by [Panish Shea Ravipudi](https://www.panish.law/2026/09/uber-ordered-to-pay-40-million-to-parents-of-emily-normandin-parker-killed-after-uber-driver-abandoned-her-on-freeway/) (attorney Ian Samson). In his ruling, Stone rejected Uber's argument that **Proposition 22** — the 2020 California ballot measure classifying app-based drivers as independent contractors — bars vicarious liability for driver conduct. Stone wrote that Tran "showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers." ## Uber's Response Uber has stated publicly that the arbitrator was wrong to hold it legally responsible for Tran's conduct, according to [the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-17/woman-was-killed-when-uber-driver-left-her-on-freeway-ubers-been-ordered-to-pay-40-million). The company has not announced whether it intends to challenge the award in court. ## What's Next Arbitration awards in California can be confirmed or vacated in Superior Court. Grounds for vacatur are narrow under the California Arbitration Act. Whether Uber seeks judicial review — and the timeline for any such challenge — has not been reported. ## Timeline - **2026-09-17T19:38:00Z:** ABC7 reports arbitrator Richard A. Stone's award: $20 million to each of Emily Normandin-Parker's parents and $300,000 to passenger Luna Moore, with Uber and driver Vu Tran jointly and severally liable. Uber says the arbitrator was wrong to hold it legally responsible. ## Primary sources 1. [ABC7: Uber ordered to pay $40M to parents of woman fatally struck after being left on OC freeway](https://abc7.com/post/uber-ordered-pay-40m-parents-emily-normandin-parker-woman-fatally-struck-being-left-orange-county-freeway/19844039/) (2026-09-17T19:38:21+00:00) 2. [Underlying incident: Aug. 12, 2023 on SR-73](https://www.panish.law/2026/09/uber-ordered-to-pay-40-million-to-parents-of-emily-normandin-parker-killed-after-uber-driver-abandoned-her-on-freeway/) 3. [Arbitrator's findings; procedural history](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-17/woman-was-killed-when-uber-driver-left-her-on-freeway-ubers-been-ordered-to-pay-40-million) ## Factoids - **Underlying incident: Aug. 12, 2023 on SR-73** (source_doc) ([source](https://www.panish.law/2026/09/uber-ordered-to-pay-40-million-to-parents-of-emily-normandin-parker-killed-after-uber-driver-abandoned-her-on-freeway/)): Emily Normandin-Parker died Aug. 12, 2023 after Uber driver Vu Tran stopped at a gore point on State Route 73 rather than taking the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit, demanded a cleaning fee after her friend became sick, and ordered both women out of the car; she was struck by traffic. The five-day arbitration before retired Judge Richard A. Stone concluded Uber is legally responsible for its driver's conduct. The family was represented by Panish Shea Ravipudi (Ian Samson). - **Arbitrator's findings; procedural history** (source_doc) ([source](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-17/woman-was-killed-when-uber-driver-left-her-on-freeway-ubers-been-ordered-to-pay-40-million)): The award is a July 2026 arbitration decision made public in mid-September. Stone found that about 1 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2023, after picking the women up from a bar, Tran stopped illegally in a gore point on SR-73 near the MacArthur Boulevard exit when Moore vomited, could have used the exit, and "showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers." He rejected Uber's argument that Proposition 22 bars vicarious liability. The parents and Moore sued in Orange County Superior Court in September 2023 before the case went to arbitration. - **Proposition 22 and rideshare liability** (regulatory): Proposition 22, passed by California voters in November 2020, classifies app-based rideshare and delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, limiting some worker benefit obligations. Arbitrator Stone rejected Uber's argument that Prop 22 bars vicarious liability for a driver's tortious conduct toward passengers — a legal conclusion that, if upheld in court, could have broad implications for rideshare injury claims in California. - **California Arbitration Act — vacatur standards** (regulatory): Under the California Arbitration Act (Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1285–1288.8), an arbitration award may be confirmed, corrected, or vacated by a Superior Court. Grounds for vacatur are narrow: corruption, fraud, misconduct by the arbitrator, or excess of the arbitrator's powers. A party has 100 days from service of the award to petition for vacatur. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.