Idan Raffael Livnat

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal of negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation claims against transportation network company (TNC), Lyft Florida, Inc., concluding such claims are barred by the plain text of section 627.748(18), Florida Statutes (2022). In Haddad v. Lyft Florida, Inc., 4D2025-017 (Fla. 4th DCA May 13, 2026), a rideshare passenger alleged she was assaulted by her Lyft driver. She sued for negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, alleging statements on Lyft’s website led her to believe that her ride would be safe and that she would not suffer personal injuries at the hands of a Lyft driver. Lyft moved to dismiss, contending that section 627.748(18) provided it with immunity against such claims. Subsection 18 provides that “[a] TNC is not liable under general law by reason of owning, operating, or maintaining the digital network accessed by a TNC driver or rider…for harm to persons or property which results or arises out of the use, operation, or possession of a motor vehicle operating as a TNC vehicle while the driver is logged on to the digital network” under three circumstances if: (1) there is no negligence under this section or criminal wrongdoing under the federal or Florida criminal code on the part of the TNC; (2) the TNC has fulfilled all of its obligations under this section with respect to the TNC driver; and (3) the TNC is not the owner or bailee of the motor vehicle that caused harm to persons or property. The trial court agreed that subsection 18 provided Lyft with immunity and dismissed the complaint. With the benefit of oral argument, the Fourth District affirmed the dismissal. In doing so, the court concluded that subsection 18’s plain text makes clear that the immunity conferred under section 627.748(18) is much broader than traditional vicarious liability. Thus, the passenger’s claims for negligent and fraudulent misrepresentations, which arose out of the use, operation, or possession of the vehicle operating as a TNC vehicle while the driver was logged on to the network, were barred. It did not matter that the complaint purported to plead negligence by Lyft rather than a traditional vicarious liability theory. The negligent act asserted against the TNC had to relate to a negligent failure to meet the statute’s requirements for rideshare companies. This is a favorable decision for TNC companies. Plaintiffs will need to carefully tailor their allegations to overcome the broad immunity set forth in the statute. Otherwise, their claims will be subject to dismissal out of the gate. TNC companies should look to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaints from the outset. The immunity is not a traditional affirmative defense. Thus, trial courts can rule on the immunity at the motion to dismiss stage.