A Palm Beach County woman is suing the food-delivery giant DoorDash over allegations that a driver sexually assaulted her in the entryway of her apartment.
The woman, identified in the lawsuit only as Jane Doe, said she ordered a bottle of vodka to her house on a Saturday night in March. She said the deliveryman entered her home under the guise of verifying her age, then pushed her to her knees and forced her to perform oral sex.
"DoorDash takes these allegations seriously and has zero tolerance for violence of any kind on the platform," Jenn Rosenberg, a DoorDash spokesperson, said Tuesday.
Filed Oct. 8 in West Palm Beach, the lawsuit doesn't say whether the assault was reported to or investigated by authorities, nor whether criminal charges are
pending. It also omits the name of the accused driver, though Doe's Miami-based attorney Donevan Mallard said he plans to add the name once he and his client learn it.
Until then, Mallard referred to the deliveryman as John Doe, one whose actions hurt his client physically, psychologically and emotionally. Mallard said the woman was humiliated by the incident and has incurred medical and counseling expenses as a result of it.
The attorney said DoorDash had a responsibility to make sure drivers entrusted with customers' addresses are safe and trustworthy. He argues that the company failed to investigate the driver's background adequately, including any criminal history, and failed to monitor him after letting him onto the platform.
The lawsuit also takes aim at the company's procedures for alcohol deliveries.
Mallard said that by requiring customers to interact with drivers to verify their age, DoorDash created a situation with foreseeable safety risks. The attorney said the company should have instructed customers that drivers do not need to enter their homes and should have trained drivers to complete alcohol verification at the doorway or another safe location.
The lawsuit contains several claims: battery and sexual battery against the unidentified driver, and three negligence claims against DoorDash over the driver's selection, his continued supervision and the company's alcohol-delivery safety procedures.
Jane Doe is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and has requested a jury trial.
Hannah Phillips covers public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman sues DoorDash, says driver assaulted her after vodka delivery
