Written with the help of AI from U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 25-607, Miami Township Board of Trustees v. Gillispie, Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2023-07-31 (Doc. 519), denying post-trial motions, Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2023-07-31 (Doc. 518), denying Gillispie’s motion to join or intervene and Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2024-03-01 (Doc. 568), denying motion to enforce and granting stay.
A federal jury in Dayton awarded Roger Dean Gillispie $45,000,000 in November 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Miami Township Board of Trustees’ petition for review on Jan. 26, 2026, according to the Court’s docket. The records reviewed do not say how the township plans to pay, and they do not show a payment.
Why it matters: A federal court ordered the township to indemnify Moore for the full $45 million verdict and found in 2024 that neither had enough available funds to satisfy it or post a full bond.
What the jury found: Trial in Gillispie v. Miami Township et al. began Nov. 7, 2022, and ended Nov. 21, 2022, according to a July 31, 2023 order by U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose. The jury found for Gillispie on his two remaining claims against Matthew Scott Moore, a former Miami Township police detective, and awarded $45,000,000. Gillispie alleged that Moore framed him for a series of sexual assaults. The township had been dismissed as a defendant earlier. It joined the case as an intervenor limited to the issues of Moore’s good faith and scope of employment. The jury found it had not been proven that Moore acted in bad faith or outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities.
They do not break it into compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees or interest. In a motion, Gillispie asked that any bond cover the verdict, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, costs and attorney’s fees. That was his request, not a ruling on what the judgment contains.
Post-trial motions: On July 31, 2023, Judge Rose denied three post-trial motions in one order: the township’s motion for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial, the township’s motion to alter or amend the judgment, and Moore’s motion to alter or amend the judgment. The same day he denied Gillispie’s request to join the township’s separate declaratory-judgment action against Moore.
Indemnification: On Nov. 8, 2023, the court ruled that the township must “indemnify Moore in the full amount of the verdict entered against him” and owes him a duty to defend, under Ohio Revised Code 2744.07. The parties then filed appeals. The Sixth Circuit’s docket numbers were 23-3999, 23-4000 and 23-4001, and the Supreme Court docket lists a Sixth Circuit decision date of May 2, 2025. That docket says rehearing was denied June 23, 2025. The Sixth Circuit opinion itself was not available in the records reviewed, so what it decided is not confirmed here.
Enforcement and stay: Gillispie asked the district court on Dec. 21, 2023 to enforce the verdict against the township or to require a full supersedeas bond. On March 1, 2024, the court denied enforcement and granted Moore a stay of execution without bond pending appeal. It held that, under the Ohio Supreme Court’s Ayers v. Cleveland decision, Gillispie as a judgment creditor lacks standing to enforce Moore’s indemnification rights against the township. It also found that neither Moore nor the township had sufficient available funds to satisfy the judgment or post a full bond.
On April 30, 2024, the court denied Gillispie’s motion to reconsider. He had pointed to the township’s liability insurance with First Mercury Syndicate, Inc. The court said Gillispie lacks standing to seek a bond from the insurer and noted a separate federal case between First Mercury and the township, No. 3:22-cv-258.
The township at the Supreme Court: Justice Brett Kavanaugh extended the filing deadline to Nov. 20, 2025. The township’s petition was filed that day. Moore waived his right to respond. Ohio township and municipal associations and Ohio business groups filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the petition. The petition was denied after the Jan. 23, 2026 conference.
What the township has said: The records reviewed contain the township’s court filings but no public statement about how it would pay. They show no township statement about a levy, bonds or bankruptcy. No trustee agendas or minutes were among the records reviewed, so what the trustees have discussed at meetings is not confirmed here.
What happens next: The Supreme Court docket shows no further proceedings. The records reviewed do not say whether the stay remains in effect after the appeals, how the township’s indemnity obligation will be paid, or how the First Mercury case has been resolved.
Sources: U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 25-607, Miami Township Board of Trustees v. Gillispie; Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2023-07-31 (Doc. 519), denying post-trial motions; Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2023-07-31 (Doc. 518), denying Gillispie’s motion to join or intervene; Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2024-03-01 (Doc. 568), denying motion to enforce and granting stay; Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2024-04-30 (Doc. 574), denying motion to reconsider; Gillispie v. Miami Township et al, order of 2022-11-07 (Doc. 454), granting motion to quash; GovInfo listing of opinions and orders, Gillispie v. Miami Township et al.
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