The civil lawsuit filed in Freeborn County stemming from the elder abuse case at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea will most likely end in arbitration, Minneapolis lawyer Jim Carey said Wednesday.

Only one victim who was part of the local lawsuit is still living. The other three victims have since died. When victims in Minnesota die, liability goes away.

Carey said as lawyer of the victims and their families, he has submitted a letter to the defendants in the Freeborn County lawsuit — in this case, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Brianna Broitzman, Ashton Larson, Alicia Heilmann and Kaylee Nash — asking how they wish to proceed with an arbitration hearing. He said his goal is to schedule the hearing for spring but did not have any other details.

During the hearing, a lawyer will be hired as arbitrator to help reach a resolution.

Carey said this case will go into arbitration instead of going to a jury because of an arbitration agreement that was in place when the last living victim, Clare Knutson, went into the Good Samaritan facility.

Carey filed a motion Wednesday to voluntarily dismiss without prejudice the part of the Freeborn County lawsuit including Kenneth Hojberg, a victim who died Oct. 15. The judge has granted this motion for the two preceding deceased victims who were part of the Freeborn County case.

This leaves Knutson, through power of attorney Paul Knutson, as the sole plaintiff in the local case.

The families of all of the deceased victims — now totaling seven — have filed a civil lawsuit in South Dakota against the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, where the nursing home chain is headquartered.

The lawsuits allege that the Good Samaritan Society failed to properly screen or monitor its employees, arguing systemic failure to exercise proper supervision and control over the conduct of its teenage employees that resulted in the physical, emotional and sexual abuse of residents at the facility.

Carey said there has not been much movement in these cases, other than that the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society — who is the only defendant — has motioned to dismiss the lawsuits. He expected action to speed up after the first of the year.

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.