CLEVELAND — After deliberating for several hours on Thursday, a jury has decided against punitive damages in a wrongful death lawsuit against Catholic Charities Corporation.
The jury decided on no damages and that Catholic Charities did not act with actual malice in the death of 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez.
The lawsuit, filed by the boy's estate, was seeking $81 million.
Last week, the jury found Catholic Charities Corporation 8% responsible in connection with the death of Rodriguez.
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Rodriguez died in September 2017. His body was discovered buried in the backyard of his mother’s house three months later.
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The 5-year-old was developmentally disabled and could not speak. When the little boy died, he was starving and had broken bones, according to authorities.
His mother and her boyfriend plead guilty to several charges, including involuntary manslaughter.
Catholic Charities employee Nancy Caraballo was assigned to Jordan’s case. She was supposed to be checking in on the boy. But instead, she was taking thousands of dollars in bribes involving a food stamp scheme in return for keeping quiet and falsifying reports that claimed she was doing in person visits with Rodriguez. She pleaded guilty in connection to the case.
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