Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LITIGATION NEWS, TRENDS—Walmart must defend against wrongful death claims by family of driver killed by worker with road rage, (Jul 27, 2026)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

The lawsuit followed a 2024 fatal road-rage shooting on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, with the federal court allowing claims of vicarious liability and negligent hiring, supervision, training, and retention to move forward.

In a July 23, 2026, opinion, a federal court in Pennsylvania denied Walmart's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by and on behalf of the family of a man who was fatally shot on May 31, 2024, by a Walmart employee who was operating a company vehicle at the time of the incident.

According to the complaint, the shooting occurred on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and, at the time, the Walmart employee was acting within the course and scope of his employment. It alleges that Walmart failed to properly hire, train, and supervise the employee, despite allegedly knowing or having reason to know of dangerous tendencies that ultimately led to the fatal encounter.

Walmart argues for dismissal. Walmart argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the allegations concerning the shooter’s employment status and agency relationship were conclusory and failed to establish a viable basis for holding the company responsible. The retailer also contended that the shooting of a third party could not, as a matter of law, fall within the scope of employment. Specifically, it argued that the shooter’s alleged conduct was so outrageous and personal in nature that it necessarily falls outside the scope of his employment.

Walmart also argued that the negligent hiring and supervision claims were deficient because Walmart did not provide the firearm allegedly used in the shooting.

Allegations were sufficient. However, the court rejected those arguments, emphasizing that the court's role on a motion to dismiss is not to resolve factual disputes but to determine whether the complaint plausibly states a claim. The court noted that the complaint alleges that the shooter was a Walmart employee, was operating a Walmart vehicle, and was performing work-related duties when the events unfolded. Those allegations, the judge said, are sufficient at this early stage to support a plausible inference of an employment relationship.

Scope of employment. The court declined to rule that the alleged employee’s conduct necessarily fell outside the scope of his employment. The court explained that the complaint alleges the employee was driving a company vehicle while carrying out work duties and that the fatal confrontation arose from a driving-related interaction during Walmart's commercial operations. Whether the employee acted for personal reasons or in furtherance of Walmart's business is a fact-intensive issue that cannot be decided on a motion to dismiss, the court said.

Negligence. The judge further found that the driver’s family adequately pleaded claims for negligent hiring, supervision, training, and retention. While Walmart argued that the negligent hiring and supervision claims should fail because it did not supply the employee with the firearm used in the shooting, the court explained that argument was “immaterial” and that “Liability for negligent hiring and supervision does not turn on whether the employer furnished the instrumentality that caused the harm.”

Instead, the relevant consideration under Pennsylvania law is whether the employer knew or should have known of an employee's dangerous propensities and failed to take appropriate action. The complaint alleges Walmart ignored warning signs, failed to recognize the employee’s alleged propensity for road-rage behavior and violence, and inadequately supervised and trained him. Accepting those allegations as true, as it must at this stage, the court concluded the claims are plausible.

The court also rejected Walmart's contention that no special employment relationship had been alleged, as required to state a claim for negligent hiring or supervision under Pennsylvania law. The complaint states that the employee was operating a Walmart-owned vehicle and performing assigned duties on highways where Walmart drivers routinely conduct company business. Those allegations, the court found, were sufficient to establish the type of relationship necessary to pursue negligent hiring and supervision claims.

The case is No. 5:26-cv-03734-JMG.

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