Kansas City appeals $2.1 million award

Kansas City is turning to an appellate court to wipe clean a debt owed to a local attorney. And it's an appeal that is expected shake things up at a local court.

In a notice filed last week, an attorney for Kansas City stated the city's intention to appeal the $2.1 million verdict awarded by a Platte County jury to Melissa Howard in April.

Howard, a prosecutor in Clay County, sued the city on claims that the Kansas City Council repeatedly passed her over for a municipal court judgeship because she was white. She asserted the council rejected her because it wanted a minority on the bench.

With the recent addition of attorneys' fees and pre- and post- judgment interest, the total owed by the city now stands at $2.44 million. That amount will accrue at the rate of 7 percent annually.

The city's appeal of the verdict puts the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District in a peculiar situation.

Howard is the wife of Western District Chief Judge Vic Howard, which will likely mean the court's entire bench will recuse itself from hearing the city's appeal.

"The chances are none of the judges here will be on a panel for the case," said Terry Lord, clerk at the Western District. Judge Howard declined to comment about the situation.

Lord said that in similar situations in the past, the Missouri Supreme Court has appointed other appellate judges from around the state to hear the case.

"In terms of who hears it," Lord added, "it most likely will not be anybody from here."

Assistant City Attorney Saskia Jacobse on Thursday filed a notice of appeal in Platte County Circuit Court. It came on the same day final judgment was entered in the case.

"I imagine there will be some recusals," Jacobse said. "It's not often you see something like this."

Mark Jess, Howard's attorney, did not return a message on Monday.

Jacobse listed nine points in the notice, though the city may not list every one in its official appeal, she said.

The city's main argument will continue to be that Howard did not have the right to sue under the Missouri Human Rights Act. In its defense, the city has long asserted the case should have been dismissed because Howard's claims didn't apply to the act. A municipal judge is a public official and not an employee of the city, the city claimed.

However, that argument was rejected by Judge Gerald McBeth, a visiting judge from Vernon County, in pre- and post-trial motions.

Other issues raised in the notice of appeal included that Howard failed to prove race discrimination; the court was wrong in refusing to allow the city to introduce evidence on why Howard and the other panelists were not selected; and the judge erred by allowing the testimony from two plaintiff's witnesses.

Copyright 2008 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.