A resident died in a 98-degree apartment

A Muscogee County, Georgia, jury awarded $125 million to the family of a 62-year-old resident who died in his apartment in a downtown Columbus high-rise in July 2017.

The resident had a chronic lung disease. When his body was found, the temperature in his room was more than 98 degrees, and the coroner said the heat aggravated his condition and played a role in his death. At trial, the family’s lawyer showed jurors an air conditioning unit that was not working properly, and witnesses described broken heating and air units and poor maintenance across the 269-unit low-income building. The family argued that the out-of-state owners had taken millions of dollars out of the property that could have paid for repairs. The defense presented an expert who testified that the resident preferred to keep his room hot.

On July 1, 2019, the sixth day of trial, the jury awarded $35 million for the full value of his life, $15 million for pain and suffering, $50 million in punitive damages and $25 million in litigation expenses and attorney fees. It found that the owners acted with specific intent to harm. According to the family’s lawyer, the owners offered $50,000 early on, about $1.5 million just before trial and $5 million during deliberations.

Later in July 2019 the court ordered the owners to post a $25 million bond if they wanted to appeal. In March 2020 the family dismissed the case with prejudice. Local reporting did not say whether, or how much, the family was paid.