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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff

Dakota County to pay more than $2 million to settle wrongful death lawsuit

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Dakota County has approved a payment of more than $2 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a 6-year-old boy.

Eli Hart was fatally shot in May 2022 by his mother, Julissa Thaler, who was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and is now serving a life sentence.

The boy’s father, Tory Hart, filed a lawsuit against the county, accusing it of negligence. The lawsuit claimed that county social workers pushed to move Eli from foster care to his mother’s custody, despite concerns about her mental health and substance abuse.

“Defendants knew or should have known that Eli would not be safe in Thaler’s care but endorsed giving her sole custody over Eli in bad faith and in total failure to exercise due care,” the lawsuit claimed.

The terms of the settlement call for the county to pay $2.25 million, of which about $1.3 million will go to the boy’s father and other family members. The rest will go toward attorneys’ fees.

Eli’s foster mother, Nikita Kronberg, told KARE 11 that she’s relieved to see the lawsuit settled, and she expressed hope that policymakers can examine the case “and really dig deep into how they do everything and change things to do a better job at protecting these children.”

The Dakota County Board on Tuesday voted to approve the settlement. In a statement, county officials called the murder of Eli “a horrific tragedy.”

“Our deepest condolences go out to his family and to all those affected by his death. The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, but it brings closure to a very emotional case for family, county staff and all involved. Dakota County remains firmly committed to the safety and wellbeing of our community’s children.”

Eli Hart attended kindergarten at Shirley Hills Primary School in Mound, Minn. After his death, a foundation was established in his name. It raised money to build a playground in his memory at Surfside Park in Mound, which opened earlier this year.

The foundation also has a goal of “creating awareness and change for children suffering from domestic violence.”