阿拉巴马州最高法院维持90万美元赔偿判决：沃尔玛售酒致死案推翻1934年旧判例
阿拉巴马州鲍德温县奥兰治海滩市消息：阿拉巴马州最高法院11月6日作出裁决，维持鲍德温县陪审团对沃尔玛作出的90万美元赔偿判决，驳回沃尔玛的上诉。案件源于2022年3月15日，20岁的阿拉巴马大学学生沃尔特斯在奥兰治海滩市沃尔玛门店用假佐治亚州驾照购买香槟和一箱硬苏打水，店员在自助收银台检查证件不到五秒钟便放行。次日下午，沃尔特斯酒后驾车，在格尔夫肖尔斯市180号公路东16街路口撞上正骑代步车过马路的80岁游客詹姆斯·里德，里德当场身亡，事后测得沃尔特斯血液酒精浓度为0.11，超过0.08的法定上限。鲍德温县陪审团2025年8月经三天庭审，裁定沃尔玛赔偿里德遗产90万美元补偿金，未判惩罚性赔偿。最高法院此次正式推翻1934年韦布诉弗伦奇案判例，明确该州《售酒者责任法》同样适用于致死案件；大法官威尔·塞尔斯持异议，认为沃尔玛已采取合理核查措施。
（来源：阿拉巴马州最高法院）
Alabama Supreme Court Upholds $900,000 Verdict Against Walmart, Overturning a 1934 Precedent in Fatal Alcohol Sale Case
ORANGE BEACH, Baldwin County, Alabama - The Alabama Supreme Court ruled on November 6 to uphold a Baldwin County jury's $900,000 verdict against Walmart, rejecting the retailer's appeal. The case stems from March 15, 2022, when Walters, a 20-year-old University of Alabama student, used a fake Georgia driver's license to buy champagne and a case of hard seltzer at a Walmart store in Orange Beach; a clerk at the self-checkout checked the ID for less than five seconds before letting the purchase go through. The following afternoon, Walters drove drunk and struck James Reed, an 80-year-old visitor crossing the street on a mobility scooter at the intersection of East 16th Street and Highway 180 in Gulf Shores. Reed died at the scene, and Walters' blood alcohol concentration was later measured at 0.11, above the 0.08 legal limit. After a three-day trial in August 2025, a Baldwin County jury awarded Reed's estate $900,000 in compensatory damages and no punitive damages. In its ruling, the state supreme court formally overturned the 1934 precedent of Webb v. French and made clear that Alabama's Dram Shop Act applies to cases involving death as well. Justice Will Sellers dissented, arguing that Walmart had taken reasonable measures to check the identification.
(Source: Alabama Supreme Court)
来源：阿拉巴马州最高法院
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：阿拉巴马州最高法院所在的赫夫林-托伯特司法大楼（蒙哥马利）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: The Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building in Montgomery, home of the Alabama Supreme Court. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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