The family of Kendrick Johnson is now being ordered to pay legal fees in connection with a lawsuit filed following the Georgia teen’s suspicious death in Janury of 2013.
Johnson’s parents targeted several parties in the wrongful death lawsuit, including various school administrators and multiple city council leaders. Judge Richard Porter ordered the family to pay the legal feels of those named in the suit in an e-mail sent out to all parties involved on August 18, according to a Valdosta Daily Times report. “I have concluded that the motions should be granted and that some amount would be awarded in each motion,” Judge Proter reportedly said in the e-mail.
DOJ Declines To File Charges In Gym Mat Death Of Kendrick Johnson
The Johnson family dropped the $100 million lawsuit in March and attorneys for the previously accused are seeking over $850,000 in legal fees as a result. Hearings to determine the exact amount the family will be expected to pay will resume on Monday.
Kendrick Johnson’s body was found rolled up in a gym mat at Lowndes High School in January of 2013. Despite autopsy reports ruling the 17-year-old’s death as accidental and the U.S. Attorney’s Office concluding that there was “insufficient evidence” to charge anyone with his death in June, the family maintains their suspicion of foul play. Johnson family attorney Chevene King told CNN in March that the family will seek to refile the lawsuit in the coming months.