The Kendrick Johnson lawsuit history runs from a $100 million wrongful death complaint filed in 2015 to a $10 billion federal case filed in March 2026 against the judges who dismissed the family’s prior claims. Across more than a decade of litigation, Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson have not obtained a settlement or a damages award in any of their suits over the January 2013 death of their 17-year-old son, whose body was found rolled inside a wrestling mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia. One of those suits ended with the family owing nearly $300,000 in attorney fees.
The $100 Million Wrongful Death Suit
In January 2015, the Johnsons filed a $100 million wrongful death complaint naming more than 37 defendants. Among them were Lowndes High School students Brian and Branden Bell, their father FBI Special Agent Rick Bell, Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine, School Superintendent Wes Taylor, the city of Valdosta, and employees of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The complaint alleged that the Bell brothers had “violently assaulted” Kendrick in the gym and that law enforcement officials allowed someone to place his body inside the mat to stage an accidental death.1CNN. Kendrick Johnson Lawsuit
Defendants called the suit frivolous and baseless. The Johnsons voluntarily dismissed the case on March 1, 2016.2WCTV. Additional Allegations Made in $100 Million Lawsuit
That dismissal did not end the case. Defendants moved for reimbursement of their legal costs, and in August 2017 Superior Court Senior Judge Richard Porter ordered the Johnsons and their attorney, Chevene B. King Jr., to pay $292,102 in attorney fees and expenses. Judge Porter found the claims had been “substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious” and lacked “substantial justification.”3Valdosta Today. Kendrick Johnson Family Ordered to Pay Nearly $300,000 in Attorneys’ Fees The available record does not indicate whether the fees were ultimately paid.
The 2020 Federal Suit Dismissed on Service
A separate federal civil action the family brought against the Bell brothers and other defendants was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on July 1, 2020. The court found the Johnsons had failed to serve the defendants with a summons and complaint within the required 90-day window.4Revolt TV. Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against All Defendants in Kendrick Johnson Case There was no ruling on the merits.
The 2023 Civil Rights Conspiracy Case That Grew to $1 Billion
On September 19, 2023, the Johnsons filed a new federal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, captioned Johnson v. Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Case No. 1:23-cv-04218. Brought under 42 U.S.C. ยง 1985, the statute that covers conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, the suit named the GBI, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, the Lowndes County Board of Education, the Valdosta-Lowndes Regional Crime Laboratory, the Georgia Office of the Attorney General, and a John Doe defendant.5PACER Monitor. Johnson et al v. Georgia Bureau of Investigations et al
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty. The docket shows multiple motions to dismiss and repeated attempts by the plaintiffs to amend, including one version the court struck in 2024.6CourtListener. Johnson v. Georgia Bureau of Investigations The Eleventh Circuit dismissed an early appeal from a denied default-judgment motion in January 2024, finding it lacked jurisdiction because the district court’s order was not a final, appealable order.7CaseMine. Johnson v. Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Eleventh Circuit Opinion
The Johnsons’ demand eventually reached $1 billion in damages. On March 6, 2026, Judge Geraghty dismissed the case. She ruled that the GBI and certain other defendants were protected by Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity, and that the case had procedural defects including improper service and time-barred evidence. In her order, she wrote that “the Court again expresses its concern about the inconsistencies between the various official reports on KJ’s death and Plaintiffs’ allegations.”8BET. Dismissed but Not Defeated: Federal Judge Tosses $1B Claim in Kendrick Johnson Case The case was formally terminated on March 2, 2026, and the family’s appeal to the Eleventh Circuit was dismissed on May 20, 2026, for want of prosecution.5PACER Monitor. Johnson et al v. Georgia Bureau of Investigations et al
The $10 Billion Suit Against the Federal Judges
Three days before the terminated case’s docket closed, on March 3, 2026, the Johnsons filed a new 35-page federal complaint in the same court seeking $10 billion, split evenly between $5 billion in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages. The named defendants included Judge Geraghty, Chief Judge Leigh Martin May, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia itself.
The complaint accused the judges of participating in a “murder cover-up,” entering “materially false, fraudulent, and felonious” orders, and engaging in a racketeering conspiracy. It alleged violations of the family’s Fifth, Seventh, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.9Fox 5 Atlanta. Kendrick Johnson Valdosta Gym Mat Death New Lawsuit The family has requested a jury trial. As of reporting in March 2026, the case was pending in the Northern District of Georgia.
The Death Certificate Lawsuit
Running alongside the damages cases is a separate action targeting the official record of how Kendrick died. On July 25, 2025, the Johnsons filed an amended complaint in U.S. District Court in Atlanta against the Georgia Department of Public Health. It alleges the agency violated the Civil Rights Act of 1871 and the Fourteenth Amendment by maintaining what the family called an “erroneous” and “fraudulent” death certificate listing the cause of death as accidental positional asphyxia.
The suit seeks $6 million in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages, along with a court order amending the death certificate. A jury trial has been requested.10WSB-TV. Family of Kendrick Johnson Files Amended Lawsuit About Death Certificate As of mid-2026, the Department of Public Health had declined to comment, and the case was reported as pending.
Where the Underlying Investigation Stands
The civil docket has moved in parallel with an unresolved question about the death itself. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation ruled the death an accidental positional asphyxia in May 2013. A second autopsy commissioned by the family and performed by Dr. William Anderson concluded the death was not accidental, citing blunt force trauma to the right side of the neck. A third review by the Office of Armed Forces Medical Examiner initially agreed with the GBI before amending its findings to list both cause and manner as “undetermined.”11Atlanta News First. Lowndes County Sheriff Offers $500K in Kendrick Johnson Case
The U.S. Department of Justice closed its federal civil rights investigation on June 20, 2016, citing insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone had willfully violated Kendrick Johnson’s civil rights or committed a prosecutable federal crime.12U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Closes Investigation Into Death of Kendrick Johnson Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk reopened the case in 2021, reviewed 17 boxes of evidence transferred from the DOJ, and said in January 2022 he was “100% sure there was no foul play.” The sheriff’s office nevertheless lists the case as active as of April 2026, with a $500,000 reward standing for information leading to an arrest and conviction.13WCTV. Case of Teen Found Dead Inside Mat at Lowndes High School in 2013 Remains Active, Sheriff’s Office Says
More than thirteen years after Kendrick Johnson’s death, no one has been charged with a crime, and no lawsuit brought by his parents has resulted in a settlement, verdict, or damages payment. Two federal cases remain pending: the $10 billion suit against the district judges, and the death certificate suit against the Georgia Department of Public Health.