(October 23, 2025, Los Angeles) – The children of Erie Moore, Sr.’s decade-long fight for justice for their father’s death has culminated in a verdict of $42.75 million against LaSalle Management Company, the largest verdict against a private correctional company in United States history, and the largest civil rights verdict ever in Louisiana, Omar Qureshi, founder of Qureshi Law PC, said today. Earlier this week, a jury in the Western District of Louisiana found LaSalle liable for causing Mr. Moore, Sr.’s death in 2015, for the company’s practice of excessive force to punish detainees, and for its reckless indifference to detainees’ safety. LaSalle is one of the biggest private jail companies in the United States.

Mr. Moore, Sr. was a 57-year-old retired mill worker, the father of three adult children–Plaintiffs Tiffany Robinson, Tamara Green, and Erie Moore, Jr.—and had no criminal history. On October 12, 2015, the Monroe Police Department arrested him for yelling in a donut shop on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. They took him to Richwood Correctional Center, a private jail owned and operated by LaSalle. Within minutes of arriving, the jail’s chief of security maced Mr. Moore in the face while he was handcuffed. Over the next thirty-six hours, guards repeatedly maced Mr. Moore, threatened him, tackled him, and kicked him. The abuse culminated the night of October 13, when guards body slammed Mr. Moore head-first to the ground, picked his motionless body up and slipped, dropping him on his head and causing his fatal brain injury.

“Erie Moore, Sr.’s life was a gift to his family and community. LaSalle Management Company ended it with utter indifference,” said attorney Max Schoening of Qureshi Law, who along with Mr. Qureshi, represented Mr. Moore, Sr.’s children at trial. “It is a testament to his children’s love, courage, and resilience that, in the face of enormous obstacles, they obtained justice for their father and a historic victory for civil rights in this country,” Mr. Schoening said.

After dropping Mr. Moore on his head, guards carried Mr. Moore to be interrogated by an assistant warden in the “Four Way,” one of the only areas at Richwood without a surveillance camera. As the jury found, guards continued to use excessive force against him there. He remained in the Four Way for two hours, without anyone calling for an ambulance, even though he was lying handcuffed on the floor, unconscious. After the incident, LaSalle did not provide any negative feedback to, let alone discipline, any involved staff member; instead, the warden praised and later promoted them.

The two-week jury trial in Monroe, Louisiana resulted in a verdict against LaSalle of $19.5 million in compensatory damages (returned October 20), and $23.25 million in punitive damages (returned October 21). The total $42.75 million verdict is among the largest in a civil rights case in United States history. LaSalle runs jails and detention centers throughout the American South and is one of the biggest jailers of ICE detainees in the country.

“My father is buried eight minutes away from the home where I grew up, in Bastrup, Louisiana. For the past ten years, my sisters and I have been tormented knowing he is not resting easy,” said Erie Moore, Jr. “This trial has shined light where there was darkness. It has brought our family truth, justice, and peace. We are relieved,” he said.

“With its verdict, the jury affirmed the value of Erie Moore, Sr.’s life, and sent an unequivocal message to LaSalle: if you make money off of jailing people, you cannot disregard their rights and safety,” said Mr. Qureshi.

Mr. Qureshi and Mr. Schoening, of Los Angeles-based Qureshi Law, joined Mr. Moore, Sr.’s children’s legal team as their trial attorneys in April 2025. Along with attorney Will Horowitz, also of Qureshi Law, they represent victims of civil rights abuses in California and across the country.

Justice would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of many attorneys, starting with Nelson Cameron, of Shreveport, Louisiana, who has represented the Moore family since 2016. The case only made it to a jury because of an appeal the family won in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022. The Moore family was represented in the appeal by James Anglin Flynn, Mark S. Davies, Melanie Hallums, Joseph R. Kolker, and Jodie Liu of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; Leslie Bailey, John He, and Ellen Noble of Public Justice; Tiffany R. Wright, Jade Gasek, and Ciarra Carr of Howard University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic; Leslie Brueckner of Bailey & Glasser; and Mr. Cameron. Rachel Shalev, of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP was also an invaluable member of the Moore family’s legal team.

Louisiana jury returns $42.75 million verdict against LaSalle Management Company

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