Moreland award totals $56.5 million
Jury orders record penalty for jail death

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By MATTHEW S. GALBRAITH - South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND, IN. -- The federal jury that awarded what is believed to be a record sum in this area of $56.5 million to Christopher Moreland's parents did more than fill in a blank verdict form.

Jurors seemed to be sending a strong message Thursday.

They imposed a punishing dollar amount for what the plaintiffs had claimed all along was a brutal beating death, followed by an effort to cover it up, in the St. Joseph County Jail 4 1/2 years ago.

Whether the Moreland family ever will see anything close to that amount is another matter.

To put the damages in perspective, the total dwarfs the $39.6 million construction cost of the new jail, which opened last year.

Geoffrey Fieger, lead attorney for the Morelands, said the jury's award of $29 million in compensatory and $27.5 in punitive damages reflected the "horror" of what happened on the jail's fourth floor.

Punitive damages were assigned to former jail guards Erich Dieter and Michael Sawdon, the two remaining defendants in the case. They were accused of throwing Moreland head first into a shower wall, turning hot water on him, pepper spraying him and placing him, unconscious, in a restraint chair.

Moreland died in the jail of head injuries on Oct. 25, 1997.

"Responsible authorities can no longer look the other way," Fieger said after a three-week trial. "They (the defendants) are guilty of the crime of murder, and anybody who says they are not prosecuting, there's something wrong here."

Prosecutor Chris Toth, who last week said he has no plans to file any criminal charges, said Thursday he would be willing to meet with Fieger to discuss the case.

After Dieter and Sawdon were acquitted of federal criminal charges two years ago, Toth asked the Indiana State Police to conduct its own investigation. They jointly concluded that successfully prosecuting state charges was unlikely.

But if Fieger had improved upon the evidence, Toth said he "certainly would welcome that being presented to our office."

"What happened to Mr. Moreland is of a great concern to me. It was a tragedy, and our hearts go out to his family," Toth said.

Sean Drew, co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said he was overwhelmed and humbled by the staggering size of the jury award.

"This is a major statement of justice, not just for this county, but for the country," said Drew, the Niles attorney first contacted by Moreland's father two days after the 30-year-old's death.

Gary Moreland, the father, gave thanks to "my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ," before expressing gratitude to Drew for "standing beside me every inch of the way."

"My son's watching and he's just saying, 'Thank you, Dad.' He didn't die in vain. He didn't die in vain. Now I've got him cleared," said Gary Moreland, who lives in the rural Huntington County town of Bippus.

Gary Moreland said he intends to enter a jail ministry now.

Dieter and Sawdon left the federal courthouse without comment. Their attorney, Martin Kus, said the jurors gave a lot of thought to the trial evidence and what the appropriate remedy should be.

The same jury earlier had found the defendants were liable for Moreland's death by their use of unnecessary force and deliberate indifference to his medical needs.

The punitive damages were not split equally. Sawdon, who invoked his right not to testify in the trial, was assessed $15 million, while Dieter's was $12.5 million.

The amounts, Kus said, showed the eight jurors "don't want that happening in the jail."

But, he added, "I've got a couple of guys who make about $500 a week. They have no insurance and no coverage to pay."

Years of appeals are expected to follow in the case.

Plaintiffs wanted $97 million

Jurors deliberated about 3 1/2 hours after hearing both sides argue for damage amounts that were tens of millions of dollars apart. It was the 14th day of the trial.

Fieger asked for $97 million -- the combined amount of $47 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive.

"Christopher Moreland died alone," said Fieger. "He was beaten, soaking wet, drenched with chemicals, virtually hogtied to a restraint chair and left there for hours until he was found dead."

Punitive damages would serve both as punishment to the defendants and a warning to others never to repeat the kind of things done to Moreland, he said.

To this day, he added, Sawdon and Dieter have denied responsibility for causing the death and held to false stories that were concocted to hide their actions.

"You will decide what is fair compensation," said Fieger, while acknowledging no guarantee of payment on a judgment.

"If this family never sees a cent of this money, it will matter little to them," he added.

Kus asked jurors not to be swayed by sympathy for the deceased's family or hatred for the defendants in making their decision, to use only the facts of the case.

Fair compensation would be in the "hundreds of thousands" of dollars for Moreland's conscious pain and suffering, lost earnings and his family's loss of his love and companionship, Kus said.

Before trial, the defendants made a settlement offer of $600,000. At that time, former Sheriff Joseph Speybroeck was a defendant, but he later was dismissed from the case by U.S. District Judge Allen Sharp.

Another defendant, county police Sgt. Paul Moffa, was released after jurors were deadlocked on his liability claims. The plaintiffs say they plan to retry him.

Moreland was arrested by Mishawaka police for allegedly driving under the influence in the early morning hours of Oct. 25, 1997. He was taken to the jail after spending a couple of hours at the Mishawaka station.

A short time after being placed in the drunk tank, he exchanged words with another inmate. Moffa and another officer entered the tank. Moffa said he pepper sprayed Moreland when he refused to exit the tank and forced him to the floor when Moreland became combative.

The plaintiffs claimed Moreland suffered a serious head injury in the scuffle with Moffa.