Tiger Woods has been removed as a defendant in a wrongful-death lawsuit related to a former employee at the Florida restaurant bearing his name.
Nicholas Immesberger was a bartender at The Woods Jupiter who died in a car crash after leaving the restaurant December 2018.
Immesberger died in an auto accident on Dec. 10 following the end of his shift at the restaurant. Immesberger remained at the restaurant after closing to drink and left deeply intoxicated. After the crash, Immesberger's blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.256, more than three times Florida's legal limit of 0.08.
Through Immesberger's estate, his family sued the restaurant and Woods, as well The Woods Jupiter general manager and Woods' girlfriend, Erica Herman, seeking compensation. The lawsuit suggested the parties knew Immesberger struggled with alcoholism and were aware of how much he had drank that evening when he left to drive home.
“While the situation was tragic, the facts will ultimately show that the cause of Mr. Immesberger’s car accident were the many decisions made by Mr. Immesberger on the night of his passing,” Woods attorney Barry Postman wrote in a statement to the Florida Sun-Sentinel, who first reported the story.
The lawsuit was filed in May, during the week of the 2019 PGA Championship. Woods' lawyers argued the 15-time major winner should not have been included in the suit as Woods is an investor in the restaurant and is not an employee. Woods was also not at the restaurant on the day Immesberger died after his shift.
“The decision was clearly appropriate and reflected the fact that Mr. Woods should not have been included in the lawsuit in the first place because he had nothing to do with Mr. Immesberger’s death,” Postman added.
While Woods, who owns a piece of the restaurant, is no longer involved in the suit, Herman and the restaurant remain defendants.
