Court rules against Jerry Lawler's lawsuit related to son's death

A court decision issued Friday dealt a blow to the lawsuit Jerry Lawler filed against Hardeman County in the wake of the 2018 jailhouse hanging death of Lawler's son, Brian Christopher Lawler.

According to the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, the Hardeman County officers cited in Lawler's wrongful death lawsuit, which was filed in 2019, deserve "qualified immunity" from liability because it was not proved in court that the deputies "subjectively believed that there was a strong likelihood the inmate would commit suicide."

"Jerry has been through a lot, and he's very disappointed," said lawyer Jeffrey Rosenblum, representing Lawler. "But it's not over. Jerry has faith in the system, and there are other options for us to pursue."

Lawler's lawyers could ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the decision, or ask for an en banc session from the Sixth Circuit, which would seek to have the appeal heard by more than the three judges who issued Friday's ruling.

Rosenblum said he did not believe a court should "condone the callous conduct" of the Hardeman County officials.

Friday's decision was a reversal of an earlier ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, which had determined that Lawler's lawsuit could proceed to trial because "a reasonable jury could find that (the officers) 'recklessly disregarded' the strong risk that (Lawler's son) would commit suicide."

However, Friday's ruling reversed the District Court's ruling, in part because the "reckless" standard cited in that court's decision was not in effect when the Lawler lawsuit was filed.

Wrote Judge Eric E. Murphy: "The doctrine of qualified immunity insulates public officials from liability... unless the caselaw existing at the time of their actions clearly established that they violated the Constitution. There often will not be much difference between the then-existing law and the current law. As this case shows, however, this distinction can sometimes matter."

A professional wrestler like his father, Brian Christopher Lawler, who wrestled under the name Brian Christopher, was found hanging in a Hardeman County jail cell on July 29, 2018. He was transported to the Regional One Medical Center in Memphis, where he died according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The younger Lawler, 46, had been arrested July 7 on charges of DUI, evading arrest and driving on a revoked license. He did not post bail, so he remained in jail.

Lawler's $3 million lawsuit against Hardeman County, Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen and others charged that "numerous failures of the county and its employees... resulted in the wrongful death of his son."

Doolen did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.

According to the initial lawsuit, the defendants “failed to provide Brian with any treatment for his drug and alcohol issues” during his time at the jail and “altogether failed to provide him with appropriate care after he was assaulted by another inmate” on July 28, 2018.

Although officials labeled the death a suicide, Lawler in numerous interviews has expressed doubt that his son killed himself. The Circuit Court, however, did not address this issue, and refers to the death as a "suicide" throughout its ruling.

Chronicling the death, the Circuit Court decision states that Brian Christopher Lawler "had used the shoestrings from his New Balance gym shoes to fashion a makeshift noose. He had gotten up on the bench and tied the shoestrings to a large bolt protruding an inch or so out of the top of the cell’s front wall to the left of the cell door. Lawler had then wrapped the shoestrings around his neck."

Quoting officers, the Court wrote that at one point during his incarceration Brian Christopher Lawler "ranted and raved" for more than six hours, and exhibited other behaviors that indicated "a 'drastic change' in his mood."

But the Court concluded: "We need not (and do not) decide whether the Officers violated today’s legal rules because Lawler’s father has not shown that they violated the rules in place when Lawler committed suicide. Qualified immunity thus insulates the Officers from this damages suit."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Court rules against Jerry Lawler's lawsuit related to son's death