VALDOSTA — A South Georgia Superior Court judge has granted a motion to dismiss, removing Georgia Bureau of Investigation employees from a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Kendrick Johnson, according to court officials.

Nine current and former GBI employees were named as defendants in the Johnsons’ lawsuit, including GBI Director Vernon Keenan and Dr. Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft, the forensic pathologist who performed the state’s autopsy on Kendrick Johnson’s body and determined the cause of his death was accidental.

The GBI’s motion to dismiss was filed in February and asserted the Johnsons failed to meet “pre-suit anti litem notice obligations” required by state law and failed to properly serve eight of the nine defendants.

Judge J. Richard Porter III signed an order this week dismissing all nine GBI defendants from the lawsuit. The order is expected to be filed with the court by Monday, said Jim Elliott, legal counsel for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.

The order also states each of the defendants acted within the scope of their employment by the state and are immune to the lawsuit under the Georgia Tort Claims Act.

Kendrick Johnson’s body was found upside down in a vertically stored gym mat at Lowndes High School in January 2013. The state’s autopsy ruled the 17-year-old’s death accidental. The Johnson family insists their son died of foul play.

In January, Johnson’s parents filed a $100 million suit that named 38 individuals and accused them of participating in a conspiracy that would prevent anyone from being held criminally responsible for Johnson’s death.

With the GBI dismissed from the litigation, 29 defendants remain, including individuals from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, the Lowndes County School system, the Valdosta / Lowndes Regional Crime Lab and the City of Valdosta.

The Johnsons amended the lawsuit in August to accuse Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine and Lowndes County School Superintendent Wes Taylor of personally directing a cover-up and manufacturing alleged evidence which would make Johnson’s death appear accidental. The amendment prompted the sheriff’s office to announce its intent to sue the Johnsons for abusive litigation if the Johnsons lose the case.

U.S. Attorney Michael Moore opened a federal investigation into Johnson’s death two years ago this month. Findings of the investigation have yet to be released.