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Interview with Brian McCallister ~ City of...
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Interview with Brian McCallister ~ City of Lee's Summit Mayor's Statement ~ White vs McKinley
July 6, 2010
7:47 p.m.
Interview with Brian McCallister ~ City of Lee's Summit Mayor's Statement ~ White vs McKinley
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today handed down its Mandate, making the $15 million judgment against Richard McKinley in Theodore W. White, Jr. v. Richard McKinley, et al. final and unappeable. On August 29, 2008, a jury found that McKinley, a detective with the City of Lee’s Summit Police Department, violated Mr. White’s right to a fair trial when he hid and participated in the destruction of evidence in a criminal prosecution that led to White’s wrongful conviction.
On August 23, 2006 - - two years before the $15 million verdict against McKinley - - the City of Lee’s Summit signed a written promise to pay “for any final Judgment entered by the Court in favor of [Ted] White and against Richard McKinley in the White lawsuit for compensatory damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, attorney’s fees and court costs. . .” The written promise to pay, entitled “Indemnification Agreement,” specifically refers to White’s lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, referring to it specifically by its designated court case number. Part of the City’s incentive to enter into the promise to pay included a settlement and resolution of sizeable claims by White against the City and the City’s Chief of Police, Kenneth Conlee, which were dismissed as a part of the deal.
In a press release issued by the City of Lee’s Summit today, Tuesday, July 6, 2010, Mayor Randy Rhoads is quoted, saying “Although the city signed an indemnification agreement in 2006, it was not known then that the jury would a issue a verdict two years later that the defendants violated Mr. White’s constitutional rights.”
One of White’s attorneys, Brian McCallister, said, “It is interesting that Mayor Rhoads is saying the City did not know what a jury would do in 2006 when it signed the Indemnification Agreement. Mayor Rhoads was not the mayor in 2006 and the Indemnification Agreement specifically refers to the lawsuit filed by Ted White against Richard McKinley, the City of Lee’s Summit and its Chief of Police, Kenneth Conlee. All the City had to do was read Mr. White’s Complaint to know exactly what it was agreeing to pay in 2006. I suppose if you are doing business with the City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, you should not rely on its written promises. Apparently, the City believes it is above the law and that it doesn’t have to honor its written promises.”
McCallister also said, “The language of the Indemnification Agreement is very clear and the City of Lee’s Summit has made a promise to pay. It is ridiculous for Mayor Rhoads to say that the public is not entitled to rely on the City’s written promises.”
The City’s position on this subject - - that it does not have to make good on its written promise to pay - - should make any vendors with the City of Lee’s Summit take notice, including bond holders, bond issuers, contractors and anyone else doing business with the City of Lee’s Summit.
White’s verdict of $15 million against McKinley, for which the City of Lee’s Summit is legally obligated to pay by its Indemnification Agreement, carries with it the obligation to pay interest at the rate of some $26,000+ per month, as well as all attorneys’ fees expended by White.
“Each day the City refuses to make good on its written promise to pay the verdict costs the taxpayers of Lee’s Summit $867 in interest alone, not to mention Mr. White’s attorney’s fees,” said McCallister. “By the time the City is ordered to pay on its promise to Mr. White and his family for the devastation its employee heaped on Mr. White, they could owe millions more in damages for entering into a fraudulent promise to pay. I can’t imagine the citizens of this fine community will stand for that,” he said.
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