ATLANTA — A federal judge has ruled against the parents of Kendrick Johnson in a $1 billion court filing against the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, court documents show.

The judge turned down a request, filed Oct. 13, by Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson to have the sheriff’s office and the GBI pay $500 million each in default judgments over their latest lawsuit in the 2013 death of their son, Kendrick “KJ” Johnson.

The request asked for a mandatory judgment against the two entities on the basis they had failed to respond to the original complaint filed in the case, court records showed.

On Oct. 18, the judge denied the request, saying there was no proof the defendants in the case — the sheriff’s office and the GBI — had been served the paperwork, the judge’s order shows.

The body of Johnson was found upside down in a vertically stored gym mat at Lowndes High School in January 2013. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-old’s death accidental, taking place when he became stuck, upside down, upon crawling into the mat to retrieve a shoe.

A federal review of the case ended in 2016 when the Department of Justice announced it had not found “sufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges.”

The Johnson family maintains their son died of foul play. Johnson’s body was exhumed more than once for follow-up autopsies.

In the years since the teen’s death, the Johnson family has launched various lawsuits against dozens of individuals in state and federal courts. A lawsuit filed in Lowndes County Superior Court against dozens of defendants for $100 million was dropped in March 2016. A federal investigation found no conclusive evidence of foul play. A federal lawsuit was dropped when an attorney representing Johnson’s parents failed to meet filing deadlines.

Many conspiracy theories grew around the case, which remains popular on social media.

About 15 months ago, Sheriff Ashley Paulk — who was not in office when Johnson died — began a review of documents from past investigations, including one by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said that, as someone with no connection to the case, he could provide “unbiased facts.” His study found no evidence a crime was committed.

The latest federal lawsuit by the Johnson family, filed Oct. 19, claims the sheriff’s office and the GBI were involved in a conspiracy to report fake news about KJ’s death.