A settlement could soon be reached in the case of a death in Sebastian County Jail

All parties are working toward a financial settlement in connection with the August 2021 death of Larry Price Jr. in the Sebastian County Jail. According to attorneys handling the matter, a settlement may be reached soon.

In August 2020, Price, who had a history of mental illness and had multiple brushes with police, entered a Fort Smith police station where he allegedly made verbal threats and pointed his fingers in the shape of a gun. He was charged with making terroristic threats and booked into the Sebastian County Jail with bail set at $1,000. Unable to make bail, Price remained in the county jail for more than a year, often in solitary confinement. He died on August 29, 2021.

Catherine Fontenot, a Louisiana corrections officer hired by Heipt to investigate the case, said Price's treatment by Sebastian County and Turn Key Health officials was “cruel and inhumane.” The details of his incarceration and death made national headlines.

On January 13, 2023, a lawsuit demanding a jury trial was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III. Sebastian County and Turn Key Health Clinics, the company hired to provide medical care to the prison after Price's death, were named as defendants. The lawsuit was filed by a Seattle-based Budge and Heipt on behalf of the Price family.

Balson, a consultant with the law firm Budge and Heipt and an attorney who focuses on “helping individuals and groups challenge civil rights violations by governments and corporations,” confirmed to Talk Business & Politics that the main defendants are Sebastian County and Turn Key Health.

The Sebastian County Quorum Court voted on August 20 approve up to $3 million to settle the case, with Turn Key Health also expected to provide $3 million to reach a settlement. Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz said he believes “we have provided enough to be able to reach a settlement.”

Balson declined to discuss “the history” of the settlement negotiations or say whether $6 million would be enough to reach an agreement with the Price family. A July 5, 2024, letter from Budge and Heipt noted that verdicts in similar cases range from $95 million to $8.3 million. But Balson said it was “very likely” a settlement would be reached “in the next few weeks.”

Alexandra Ah Loy, a lawyer with Hall Booth Smith The Turn Key Health representative confirmed that Turn Key also contributed $3 million to the settlement. Ah Loy, who said the terms of the agreement would be made public, believes a deal could be finalized as early as the end of the week.

“The parties are finalizing the terms of the settlement agreement,” Ah Loy said on Monday.

Before the parties agreed to settlement talks, a trial date was set for September 9, 2024. The case was transferred by Judge Holmes to U.S. Western District Judge Timothy Brooks on August 9.

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