Company Off Hook In Alcohol-Related Death Following Party

Washington, D.C. — A wrongful-death lawsuit that sought $50 million from a company that served alcohol at its Christmas party, as well as the company's event planners and a drunken attendee, has been dismissed and the company exonerated.

A separate case is still pending against the attendee.

The key legal issue turned out to be whether the party served to actually further the company's business interests, or whether it was purely a social event.

The case involved an intoxicated attendee who, following an all-night party at a Washington hotel in December 1999, struck a pedestrian with his car, then fled the scene. The parents of the victim, a college student, sued the driver and members of the party's planning committee, as well as the event's sponsor, Intelsat, a communications firm here (Meeting News, Jan. 29, 2001).

Citing earlier decisions, U.S. District Court judge Royce Lamberth wrote, "Employers who host events that are 'sufficiently related' to the company's business interests place their employees within the scope of their employment."

That could be crucial in the current case, the judge noted, saying, "If [the drunken attendee] was acting within the scope of his employment while at the holiday party, then Intelsat should have been able to control the amount of alcohol that he consumed."

But he wasn't, and Intelsat couldn't, the judge found.

The complaint against planning-committee members was dismissed earlier.

The intoxicated attendee, Ricardo Aspillaga, who caused the death of the student, Seth Wadley, had earlier been convicted in criminal court of manslaughter in the death of Wadley.

Aspillaga worked for another company that consulted with Intelsat, but that was not a factor in the decision.

The court cited a number of reasons why the holiday party was not an official business function:

The party was not held on company premises. It was held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, with an "after-party" at a private suite that extended the partying and drinking until 3 a.m.

The party was held outside normal business hours.

No business-related transactions or meetings took place, even though a company executive gave "comments on 1999" and said "some positive words about looking forward to 2000."

There was no expectation or requirement to attend the party.

The court also observed that Intelsat had offered hotel rooms and free taxi rides to any attendees who felt they couldn't drive home.

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