The family of Botham Jean filed a lawsuit last month, attempting to force the city of Dallas to pay the $98M a jury found the family is owed after his 2018 murder.

DALLAS — The family of Botham Jean, the Dallas man murdered by former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, is trying to force the city of Dallas to pay out the $98 million a 2024 jury ruled was owed to them, according to a new lawsuit filed in Dallas County District Court.

Guyger was found guilty of murdering Jean in 2018, when she said she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, assumed he was an intruder and shot him, WFAA previously reported. Shortly after the fatal shooting, Jean’s family filed a federal lawsuit against Guyger and the city of Dallas. A judge later ruled that the city be dismissed from the civil lawsuit. Guyger was later fired from the Dallas Police Department.  

In 2024, a federal jury found that Guyger was liable for the wrongful death of Jean and ordered her to pay the family nearly $100 million. 

The latest filing claims that the city of Dallas is responsible for paying out the judgment on Guyger’s behalf. 

In the lawsuit, the family argues that the city has an obligation to pay out the settlement because, according ot the city’s own municipal ordinance, it has a duty to defend Guyger as an employee of the city and pay out any losses resulting from claims against her, according to the lawsuit. 

“In addition to the city’s obvious social, moral, and ethical obligations to satisfy the judgment under its social contract with its citizens, the city has a clear legal obligation to pay the judgment by virtue of its duty to indemnify former Officer Guyger under the (City of Dallas Officer and Employee Liability) plan,” the suit argues. 

The City of Dallas said in a statement, it does not comment on pending litigation.Â