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In Support of Ted White, Jr.
July 15, 2010
Dear Editor
In Support of Ted White, Jr.
I must take issue with the City of Lee’s Summit’s recent press release and Mayor Rhoads' statement regarding the “White vs. McKinley case ruling”. The press release was distributed to area media outlets on July 6th, after the federal appeals court ruled yet again in favor of Ted White’s multi-million-dollar lawsuit against former Lee’s Summit Police Officer Richard McKinley.
In his written public statement, Mayor Rhoads wrote, “First, I want to state, there was no judgment in this case against the City of Lee’s Summit. The jury awarded damages to Mr. White to be paid by the defendants. By the time this case went to trial in 2008, the City of Lee’s Summit was not a defendant.”
With all due respect, Mayor Rhoads, surely is aware that the only reason there is no judgment in this case against the City of Lee's Summit is that the City and former Police Chief Conlee were released from Ted White, Jr.'s original $100 million lawsuit only after offering to “fully indemnify” - or, more simply put, pay in full - any final judgment in favor of White and against McKinley for “compensatory damages, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs”. It’s likely that city officials, including our city attorney and MARCIT, our liability insurer at that time, felt a judgment against McKinley, as one individual, would be considerably smaller than one against the entire City, the former chief and McKinley. They knew the judgment could be anywhere from zero to $100 million, yet, still signed a legal document agreeing to pay the potential judgment against McKinley.
The Indemnification Agreement was signed by Ted White, former Police Chief Kenneth Conlee, former City Administrator Steve Lewis, and the President and CEO of former liability insurer MARCIT. Ted White upheld his agreement to release the City and Conlee from the lawsuit, but the City is reneging on its signed agreement to pay up. How can anyone feel safe doing business with a government that signs such contracts and then decides not to honor their agreement?
Mayor Rhoads’ statement does not deny that the City signed the Indemnification Agreement. Still, he explains, “Second, despite an Indemnification Agreement which removed the City as a defendant in this case, it has been determined, after an extensive review, that paying any damages in this case would be a violation of City ordinances.”
If “paying any damages in this case would be a violation of City ordinances”, why in the world was the Indemnification Agreement put together in the first place? Why didn’t our City Attorney know it was in violation of Code of Ordinance 2-553, Article X Risk Management, Division 1 Legal Defense and Indemnification? Why was it signed by former Chief Conlee and (then) City Administrator Steve Lewis, “as authorized by and on behalf of the City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri”? The tax payers of Lee’s Summit were paying good money to the Police Chief, City Administrator and City Attorney to protect us, uphold our laws and ordinances and to properly conduct city business for us. Yet, no one bothered to make sure this Indemnification Agreement was legal before signing it? Why not? We were facing a potential $100 million judgment! Surely, they also knew we didn’t have enough liability insurance to cover a judgment of that amount. Again, why not?
The agreement was also signed by President and CEO of MARCIT, the City's former liability insurer. (I’m not sure who that person was because, unlike the other three signatures on the contract, his name was not typed below his signature.) Before signing such an important document/contract, shouldn't he also have made sure it was legal? My goodness, he is or was in the liability business and this agreement had the potential of becoming a major liability to his company and our City! The judgment could have reached $100 million, and everyone involved should have known this! Did they just not want to believe it?
Ted White, Jr. (along with his family and friends) has suffered immeasurable loss because of the behavior of his (then) wife Tina and former Officer McKinley, while McKinley was on our City’s payroll. The police department and prosecutors became aware of the affair between Tina White and Richard McKinley; yet, McKinley remained as the investigating officer of a false child molestation case against White. There were too many things wrong with that case to go into right now; but after spending 5 years in prison, White was acquitted of any wrongdoing. Still, this whole nightmare has been going on for Ted and his family for 12 years:
Ted White, Jr.
• Lost his wife, three children, his beautiful home, his successful business and every cent he had.
• Lost his reputation; regaining it after his acquittal.
• Lost his freedom – spending 5 years in jail.
• Suffered permanent loss of vision in one eye in a prison scuffle.
• Suffered untold stress and legal expense for 12 years, which is ongoing.
• Caused his parents and siblings to suffer undue stress and financial loss to help pay for part of his legal defense. His parents sold their cattle, re-mortgaged their home and began working long hard hours to raise money. His father suffered a heart attack and nearly lost his life. His brother gave up his own apartment and moved into the family home to contribute. His sister missed work to attend trials and meetings.
• Has been vindicated, but can never be fully compensated.
One of the judges in the White vs. McKinley trial, after hearing Ted White’s testimony, said, “I grossly underestimated the value of this case.” Who can determine the value of what Ted White has lost over the past 12 years? Is nearly $16 million enough? Would you willingly give up what Ted and his family have lost for that amount? I wouldn’t.
It’s past time for at least a little justice to be served in this case. As much as I hate having my tax dollars go out in this manner, I hate even more that some City employees had a part in the miscarriage of justice against Ted White and that, now, 4 years later, the City is trying to go back on its word. According to Ted White's attorney, Brian McCallister, every day the city delays paying the 2008 judgment costs taxpayers an additional $867 in interest - not to mention additional attorney fees on both sides of this suit. So far, the interest alone amounts to $600,000. The interest and legal fees climb every day the City refuses to honor the Indemnification Agreement they awarded Ted White on August 21, 2006. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this could have been a $100 million judgment, rather than $16 million. Let’s stop the bleeding now and work together on regaining trust, respect and integrity in our city. Pay as agreed so Ted White doesn’t have to file more law suits to get the money Lee’s Summit previously agreed to pay him.
Please visit
www.lstribune.net click on the top banner and sign petition at: www.TedWhitePetition.com
Debbie Van Pelt-McEnroe
Lee's Summit, MO
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The city is responsible, per their written agreement, for the compensatory damages, pre and post-judgment interest, attorney fees (their own and White's) plus court costs - minus whatever payment is available from the various insurance companies.
If the city doesn't pay the judgment on McKinley's behalf, he may find it necessary to sue the city for reneging on their agreement to indemnify him. In addition to a potential suit by McKinley, Ted White will have to sue the City and Richard McKinley for payment. With interest of $867 per day ($26,000 per month), plus all the attorneys' fees, the longer the City waits to honor their signed agreement, the more expensive this becomes to Lee's Summit citizens.