LOWNDES CO., GA (WALB) - The parents of Kendrick Johnson have been ordered by a judge to pay nearly $300,000 in attorney fees to those they accused of killing their son and the parties they alleged to cover it up, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
The ruling from Lowndes County Superior Court Judge Richard Porter stems from a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents in 2015. The lawsuit accused two brothers of killing their son.
The lawsuit also claimed in-part that the members of the board of education did not properly investigate a 2009 incident involving an altercation on a school bus between Johnson and another student while on a school trip to North Georgia. That lawsuit was dropped in March of 2016.
In August of 2016, Judge Porter ruled that a long list of the people who were sued by the family of Kendrick Johnson are entitled to get some of their attorneys' fees reimbursed.
Johnson's body was found under mysterious circumstances in a rolled up gym mat at the old Lowndes High School gym in 2013. Officials ruled his death accidental, but his family said since day one that the 17-year-old student was murdered.
The Department of Justice announced in June 2016 that they were ending their investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson. The DOJ said they found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges.
A new lawsuit with the same claim was filed in August of 2016
A judge dismissed the suit in June of this year after multiple deadlines were missed.
Last month, the parents filed a third lawsuit claiming the defendants worked together to "cover up" Johnson's death.
