Family of Man Slain at Cash Machine Sues Bank

The family of a prominent Jewish community leader was shot and killed while using an automatic teller machine in West Los Angeles has filed a wrongful death suit in Superior Court against the bank, saying it failed to take precautions against attacks on customers and exposed them to unreasonable risk.

The lawyer for the family of Jerome L. Weber of Encino, who was ambushed at night while withdrawing $40 from a Wells Fargo Bank last August, said it is the first suit in the state to assert that a bank is responsible for the safety of customers using its cash machines.

Wells Fargo spokesman Wes Lockwood declined comment on the suit but said the bank “expresses its sympathy for the Weber family.”

Gage, who represents Weber’s widow, Sally, and her two teen-age daughters, said there has been an increase in crimes at the cash machines. They are “very profitable for banks” and “some of those profits should be spent on providing customer security and safety.”