Indiana officials call $31 million judgment in DCS case 'monstrously excessive'

State officials want a federal judge to reduce the $31 million judgment they were ordered to pay to an Indiana family "destroyed" by accusations the parents had caused their 14-year-old daughter's death.

Last month, a federal court jury in Hammond determined three Indiana Department of Child Services employees, an Indiana State Police detective and a doctor had violated the constitutional rights of Roman and Lynnette Finnegan and their children. The jury found those officials had sabotaged investigations into the girl's death and retaliated against the couple for complaining about how they were treated.

In a document filed Nov. 6, state officials argued the $31 million judgment was "monstrously excessive, without a rational connection to the evidence." The Indiana attorney general's office, which represents the state in the lawsuit, also argued the jury award was significantly higher than amounts awarded in comparable cases.

"After over two weeks of an emotionally-charged trial, the jury awarded damages based largely on emotion, rather than a dispassionate analysis of the evidence," the state argued in its court filing.

Richard Waples, one of the Finnegans' attorneys, said he will ask the judge to deny the state's request. He said Indiana officials' request "ignored the extensive evidence" presented by a dozen witnesses during the trial — evidence that demonstrated the "tremendous harm" the state caused the family.

Lynnette Finnegan's 14-year-old daughter, Jessica Salyer, died at home in 2005 from "a major prescription error" made by her family doctor "combined with her medical conditions, which included congenital heart disease and a seizure disorder," according to the lawsuit filed in 2008.

DCS and State Police suspected Lynnette and Roman Finnegan of killing the girl, court records state. DCS removed two of the Finnegans' other children from their home, State Police arrested the couple, and the prosecutor charged them with neglect.

After a yearslong ordeal, the criminal charges were dismissed and a judge unsubstantiated the allegations of neglect. But the Finnegans' attorneys said the damage was already done.

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Bryan Corbin, spokesman for the Indiana attorney general's office, previously told The Indianapolis Star that state officials "acted reasonably under the circumstances, based on the information available to them at the time, and consistent with the state’s duty to protect children and enforce laws for public safety."

The lawsuit named Laurel Myers, then-director of the DCS office in Pulaski County; Regina McAninch, a former DCS family case manager; Reba James, then a DCS regional manager; Jennifer McDonald, an Indiana State Police detective; and Dr. Antoinette Laskey, a pediatrician and former chair of the Indiana State Child Fatality Review Team. The lawsuit also named two other DCS officials, who were cleared of wrongdoing.

U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano has not yet ruled on the motion.

Call Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.