NEW ALBANY — A federal judge has ordered the parties in a wrongful death lawsuit over the death of Jackson County Jail inmate Ta’Neasha Chappell to meet and discuss next steps after the inmate’s mother sought to reject a $5.5 million settlement offer and proceed to trial.
On Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kellie M. Barr gave the parties a week to file a joint report outlining the next steps in the case, according to records in U.S. District Court in New Albany.
The lawsuit, filed in October 2021 by Chappell’s mother, Lavita McClain, alleges that Jackson Count Jail officials failed to provide her daughter with necessary medical care, which ultimately led to her death in July 2021. McClain was seeking more than $30 million in damages, according to an amended complaint.
Chappell, 21, Louisville, Ky., was pronounced dead July 16, 2021, at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour after allegedly repeatedly vomiting blood while at the jail and requesting help from jail staff for hours.
The circumstances of her death led to an investigation. McClain believes her daughter was poisoned while she was at the jail and is seeking justice. An autopsy determined that her “cause of cause of death (was) listed as a probable toxicity of unknown substance with manner of death being undetermined,” according to a report by Jackson County Prosecutor Jeffrey Chalfant. Ultimately, prosecutors concluded there was no evidence of a crime.
Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer, Jackson County Jail Commander Chris Everhart, as well as several Jackson County Jail officials are named as defendants in the lawsuit. For their part, the defendants have argued, among other things, qualified immunity and have denied any wrongdoing.
Should the settlement be accepted, it would come nearly two years after Jackson County agreed to a $7.25 million settlement to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit over the death of inmate Joshua McLemore, who died in 2021 after spending 20 days in solitary confinement at the Jackson County Jail while suffering from an acute mental health crisis.
The order from Barr on Friday comes as McClain faces a legal challenge in Kentucky that could result in her being removed as administratrix of her daughter’s estate.
Andre Crittenden, the father of Chappell’s only child, who is sole beneficiary of the estate, has filed a motion in Jefferson District Court in Kentucky to remove McClain and appoint himself as successor administrator due to her alleged “refusal to accept the defendants’ settlement offer.”
Court filings in the Kentucky case state that Jackson County had been offering $1.3 million to settle the lawsuit until this past April 18, just a couple weeks before the lawsuit was set to go to trial. The trial was later postponed “for the parties to consider a last-minute settlement offer made by the defendants.”
“Over the next seven days, the offer rose to $5.5 million,” according to Kentucky court records. “…Recently, the defendants have tendered their final written settlement offer. It includes $5.5 million in cash, a $100,000 scholarship for (the child), and $20,000 to pay for trust and settlement administration costs.”
According to the motion, Crittenden believes the settlement is fair and is in the best interest of the child.
“Mr. Crittenden believes that Ms. McClain’s refusal to accept the defendants’ settlement offer, and every previous offer, is not in the best interest of (the child), and is indicative of Ms. McClain’s actions in prioritizing her own goals over obtaining the maximum financial benefit possible for (the child),” according to the motion. “…Ms. McClain has lost sight of her duty to (the child) and the primary purpose of the wrongful death case, which is to pursue the maximum damages possible for (the child) and nothing outside of that.”
The motion states that McClain often points people to the website justicefortaneasha.com. The website includes “a list of demands to assure that justice is obtained for Ta’Neasha and to reduce the likelihood that other families do not endure similar grief and pain.”
The demands include “federal prosecution,” the removal of Sheriff Meyer from office, firing certain jail officials and a comprehensive jail reform package.
The motion states that Crittenden “does not disagree per se with what he perceives as Ms. McClain’s goals. …However, many of Ms. McClain’s perceived goals can, and should, be sought in a separate lawsuit.”
The Kentucky court also appointed an independent guardian ad litem to investigate the terms of the proposed settlement and the comparative risks and benefits of trial and file a report with a recommendation.
The guardian recommended that the estate accept Jackson County’s settlement offer “as this would guarantee the financial security for life of (the child), who is the sole beneficiary of the estate.”
“If this matter were to proceed to trial, there is the possibility that more than $5.5 million could be awarded, the guardian states in the report. “There is also just as much a possibility that much less than $5.5 million would be received.”
“(I) did not treat the concerns of Ta’Neasha’s mother lightly,” the guardian adds in the report. “Ta’Neasha’s death is a tragedy for the entire Chappell family. However, other than prayers for the family, the only remedy in this matter is money and, with the opportunity to provide for (the child’s) financial future, (I believe) it to be in the best interest to do so.”
In joint status report filed in the wrongful death lawsuit earlier this month, McClain’s attorneys state that she was still the plaintiff in the case. In the report, she also proposed holding a bench trial with a high/low agreement with the defendants where the estate would be guaranteed a certain amount at trial but with a cap on the amount that could be awarded.
“Additionally, plaintiff’s counsel still needs approval from the estate to proceed in this manner and will be discussing it with the attorney for Crittenden and the (guardian ad litum) prior to being able to commit to this proposal,” according to the joint status report. “If this proposal is not acceptable to the estate, the (guardian ad litum), the defendants and/or the court, then Ms. McClain would reconsider the defendants’ previous settlement offer.”
In the order on Friday, Barr denied McClain’s request for the bench trial.
“The court will not hold a proceeding of that nature, given the history of this case and the Kentucky estate order, which accepted the guardian ad litum’s report recommending acceptance of the settlement,” Barr states in the order.
As of Friday, the wrongful death lawsuit was still pending in U.S. District Court in New Albany.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit represent only one side of the case and may be contested in later court action.
