ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld a lower court’s decision clearing Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., of liability in a fatal drunk driving crash involving one of its employees.
The case stemmed from an August 2019 collision in which Derrick Khalid Hambrick was killed after being struck by Maurice Watson, a Wells Fargo employee who was driving intoxicated. Hambrick’s estate argued that Wells Fargo violated Georgia’s dram shop law by serving alcohol to Watson before the crash.
The court found no admissible evidence that Wells Fargo provided alcohol to Watson. Judges noted that Watson’s statement to police about coming from a “work function” was inadmissible hearsay and that the company had no records of hosting an event that evening.
The Eleventh Circuit agreed with the district court’s ruling that Wells Fargo could not be held responsible under Georgia law and affirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit.
