No. 25-1386October Term 2025Before Arguments
Jamila Hambrick, Administrator of the Estate of Derrick Khalid Hambrick, Petitioner v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Case status
- Current stage
- Before Arguments
- Latest event
- Accepted by the Court
- Decision timing
- No window until argument is scheduled.
- What it's about
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Question presented
1. Whether the Eleventh Circuit’s categorical rule excluding all third-party statements recorded in police reports from the hearsay exceptions under Federal Rules of Evidence 803(8), 804(b)(3), and 807, regardless of the circumstances of the statement’s making conflicts with this Court’s broad, flexible approach to the Federal Rules of Evidence as articulated in Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey, 488 U.S. 153 (1988), and with the approaches of other circuits that evaluate such statements under a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis. 2. Whether a court violates the Seventh Amendment’s guarantee of the right to trial by jury and this Court’s summary judgment precedents in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986), and Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986), when it excludes a plaintiff’s key evidence on hearsay grounds and then grants summary judgment on the basis that the plaintiff lacks sufficient evidence to create a genuine dispute of material fact.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Accepted by the Court
- Area
Supreme Court case awaiting argument
Timing
Expected by late June 2026, if argued this term
The Court granted review but has not yet scheduled oral argument. Once argued, the median case reaches a decision in 94 days. Nearly all cases are decided by the end of the term in which they are argued.
Briefing
What it's about
The justices are being asked to review whether the Eleventh Circuit uses an overly broad rule to exclude third-party statements recorded in police reports, even when the circumstances might support admitting them. The petition also argues that excluding that evidence and then granting summary judgment (ending the case before trial) can deny a plaintiff the right to have a jury decide factual disputes.
Argument
The case is still at the petition stage, and no oral argument is scheduled. The petition says the Eleventh Circuit applies a categorical rule excluding all third-party statements in police reports and then allows summary judgment after that evidence is removed.
Impact
The case could affect families, injury victims, and other civil plaintiffs who rely on statements preserved in police reports when key witnesses are unavailable. If those statements are kept out across the board, defendants may have an easier path to win before a jury ever hears the case.
What is Hambrick v. Wells Fargo about?
It asks whether the Eleventh Circuit goes too far by excluding all third-party statements in police reports. It also asks whether removing that evidence and then ending the case before trial undermines the jury's role.
What is at stake in Hambrick v. Wells Fargo?
The case could shape whether civil plaintiffs may use statements captured in police reports when other proof is limited. That matters for families and injured people trying to get a jury trial.
What happens next in Hambrick v. Wells Fargo?
The Supreme Court must first decide whether to take the case. If it does, the next major step would be briefing and an oral-argument schedule.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 17, 2026
- Method
- Methodology