Tiger woods was named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit. On June 12, our blog examined Tiger Woods’ potential liability in the wrongful death suit. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an employee of a restaurant that Woods invested in. That blog post can be found here. Based on our analysis of the facts of the case, we believed that because Woods was not the one serving the late Nicholas Immesberger prior to passing away in a DUI accident that evening, Woods would likely not be held liable for only being an investor in the restaurant.
Fast forward almost two weeks to Friday, June 21, and Woods was officially dismissed from the lawsuit in an amended complaint. That same complaint still listed Woods’ girlfriend and restaurant manager, Erica Herman, along with the restaurant, as defendants. However, unless Herman was either there or was responsible for instituting a policy at the restaurant that resulted in the bartender continuing to serve Immesberger despite knowledge of his alcoholism, Herman will likely escape liability. It was already established that Herman was not at the restaurant the night of the accident so in order for her to be found liable, the plaintiff must prove the latter alternative.
Dramshop cases are difficult to prove. The Plaintiff’s will need to establish that restaurant employees knew Immesberger was a known drunkard. This will involve deposition testimony from multiple employees, review of prior bar bills, and even surveillance video from the bar(assuming it exists).
Mark Kaire has been practicing law in Miami for nearly 30 years. He is dedicated to helping the injured people of Miami receive compensation. Mr. Kaire has been blogging on Miami’s legal issues for many years.