The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $33 million jury verdict against the sheriff of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, over the 2015 death of 26-year-old pretrial detainee Terral Ellis. Ellis died in custody after developing pneumonia that advanced to sepsis while his repeated pleas for medical attention went unanswered, according to the trial record.
In a published opinion authored by U.S. Circuit Judge Veronica Rossman, the court left the district court's judgment untouched and rejected the sheriff's request for a new trial and for remittitur. "We readily conclude substantial evidence ... shows Ottawa knew of a substantial risk of harm," the panel wrote in its 87-page decision, which also signed off on the jury instructions, evidentiary rulings, and the size of the award, according to the Tenth Circuit.
Trial Record and Verdict
During an eight-day federal trial in Tulsa in August 2023, jurors watched surveillance footage and heard testimony detailing how Ellis's condition worsened over 12 days before his death. They ultimately returned a $33 million compensatory verdict, which the district court entered on Sept. 8, 2023. The court docket and written ruling recount that Ellis voluntarily turned himself in on Oct. 10, 2015, reported back pain and numbness, and died on Oct. 22, 2015, of septic shock from bronchopneumonia, according to Justia. His estate brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that county policies and deficient training resulted in deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs.
Surveillance Video and Staff Response
Edited surveillance clips that surfaced in 2020 were played for the jury and showed Ellis begging for an inhaler and water while jail staff either mocked him or put off providing care. The Washington Post first obtained and published the footage and reported how the jail nurse and corrections officers dismissed Ellis's complaints before he collapsed, was finally transported to a hospital, and died hours later. That coverage helped shape how the case unfolded at trial.
Appeal Arguments and Separate Concurrence
On appeal, the sheriff's team attacked the verdict as excessive and claimed the family's closing argument - which urged jurors to think about deterrence - amounted to pervasive misconduct. The panel disagreed, finding the statements did not cross the line into conduct that would justify a new trial. Judge Carolyn McHugh wrote a 12-page concurrence, joined by Chief Judge Jerome Holmes, warning that inviting jurors to use compensatory damages as a deterrent in a § 1983 case where punitive damages are unavailable is improper, as reported by Courthouse News Service.
What the Ruling Means
The decision reiterates that municipalities can be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when a jury finds "gross deficiencies in policies or staffing" that amount to deliberate indifference to detainees' medical needs. The 10th Circuit also backed the district court's choice to let jurors hear evidence about state and national jail standards as context for evaluating the county's conduct, according to the Tenth Circuit.
Ottawa County can still seek rehearing or try for further review, so the procedural wrangling may not be over. For now, though, the verdict stands, and neither the county's appellate lawyers nor the sheriff's office immediately responded to requests for comment, according to Courthouse News Service.
