Attorneys Matthew Knight and Susan Eberhardt secured a complete defense victory for the Macon County Sheriff’s Office in Decatur, Illinois through a Rule 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law at the close of Plaintiff’s case. Over the course of five (5) days in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Urbana Division, Plaintiff presented evidence arising from the death of Michael Carter, Sr. while he was incarcerated at the Macon County Jail. The sole remaining claim left to be tried was a Monell theory alleging failure to train and failure to implement adequate healthcare policies within the jail. With the assistance of Michael Atkus, who contributed to the drafting of the Rule 50 motion, the defense moved under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a)(2), arguing that Plaintiff failed to offer evidence from which a jury could reasonably find that the Sheriff’s Office was the moving force behind Mr. Carter’s death. The Court agreed, holding that Plaintiff presented no evidence of deliberate indifference to inmates’ constitutional rights or that any policy, custom or omission attributable to the Sheriff or the County caused the alleged deprivation. Judgment was therefore entered in favor of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office without submission to the jury on the Monell claim.
McGee v. Macon County Sheriff’s Department et al, 16-cv-2221