A seventh civil lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court of South Dakota against the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in the Albert Lea elder abuse case.

The Argus-Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls, S.D. — where the nursing home chain is headquartered — states the family of Kenneth Hojberg filed the lawsuit Monday.

Hojberg is a victim of the abuse, who died Oct. 15.

Hojberg and his power of attorney had previously been a part of the civil case in Freeborn County against the nursing home and four alleged perpetrators; however, when victims in Minnesota die, liability goes away. The claims are still open for litigation by family members in South Dakota against the nursing home only.

According to the Argus-Leader, Hojberg’s lawsuit, like the six filed in South Dakota before it, alleges that Good Samaritan failed to properly screen or monitor its employees. It argues systemic failure to exercise proper supervision and control over the conduct of its teenage employees that resulted in the abuse at the facility.

Regardless of this allegation, the nursing home has repeatedly claimed it wasn’t aware of the mistreatment and has pointed to a Minnesota Department of Health investigation that says the company responded swiftly when it learned of the allegations.

The certified nursing assistants involved no longer work at the facility, and the Department of Health did not cite the Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea, largely because of its quick reporting.

Two of the teenage girls mentioned in the lawsuit are facing criminal charges as adults on the matter.

Brianna Broitzman, 21, and Ashton Larson, 20, both of Albert Lea, have both pleaded guilty to three counts of disorderly conduct by a caregiver in the case.

Broitzman was sentenced in October to a staggered sentence of 180 days, but will likely request to not have to serve the last 120 days.

Larson is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Four other young women were also charged in juvenile court for failure to report the abuse because they were not adults at the time of the abuse.

Civil lawsuits have been previously filed in South Dakota on the behalf of Beverly Butts, Juline Jacobs, Mavis Knutson, Grace Reshetar, Opal Sande and Sylvia Wulff.