Report: Leaked Court Document Shows Tiger Woods' Response to Wrongful Death Lawsuit
PGA superstar Tiger Woods says he is not responsible for the death last year of a man who worked at his restaurant in Florida.
Golf Channel reported Tuesday that Woods’ attorneys have filed multiple motions to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of Nicholas Immesberger.
Immesberger’s parents claim Woods; his girlfriend, Erica Herman; and his restaurant, The Woods in Jupiter, are responsible for the 24-year-old man’s death.
Immesberger was a bartender at the restaurant, which Herman manages.
The lawsuit alleges that after a shift on Dec. 10, 2018, the restaurant knowingly overserved Immesberger alcohol and then allowed him to try to drive home.
Ultimately, Immesberger crashed and died on his way back.
His blood-alcohol content was found to be .256, more than three times the state’s .08 legal limit.
“Mr. Immesberger was a bartender at The Woods, and this litigation will prove that the Defendants not only were aware of his alcoholism, but that the employees, staff, and owners of the restaurant knowingly fueled his addition by regularly over-serving him during and after his work shifts,” the Immesberger family attorneys said in a statement.
They’re seeking reimbursement of medical expenses and funeral costs along with “appropriate damages.”
We filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tiger Woods, Erica Herman, and The Woods Restaurant for dram shop negligence in the death of our client’s family, Nicholas Immesberger. Press conference tomorrow at 10a. Read about it -> https://t.co/8cRBU9CrNw
— Craig Goldenfarb (@CraigGoldenfarb) May 13, 2019
Named in the lawsuit, Woods denies any wrongdoing and believes his name should not be involved with the case.
On Wednesday, his lawyers filed motions in state court in Palm Beach County to dismiss the suit.
“Mr. Woods has no connection to the events described in the complaint. According to the Estate, Mr. Woods is an investor in the entity that owns the restaurant that served the decedent,” his lawyers wrote, according to USA Today. “Mr. Woods, however, does not work at or own the restaurant, nor was Mr. Woods present at the restaurant on the day in question.”
Barry Postman, an attorney for Woods, wrote in his filing that the Immesberger family “misunderstands the Dram Shop Act.” Florida’s version of the law says:
“A person who sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person of lawful drinking age shall not thereby become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such person, except that a person who willfully and unlawfully sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to a person who is not of lawful drinking age or who knowingly serves a person habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages may become liable for injury or damage caused by or resulting from the intoxication of such minor or person.”
Herman also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that she too was not at the restaurant the day Immesberger was overserved.
When asked about the lawsuit last month prior to the PGA Championship, Woods offered his condolences for Immesberger’s death.
“We’re all very sad that Nick passed away,” he said. “It was a terrible night, a terrible ending, and just — we feel bad for him and his entire family. It’s very sad.”
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