KC may pay 50% more to settle whistleblower case. Lawyers say it’s a bargain
This spring a jury determined that former Kansas City Manager Brian Platt sidelined the city’s communications directors for being unwilling to stretch the truth.
Now the cost of that decision is about to go up 50%, if the City Council approves a proposed settlement in the Chris Hernandez case. Final price tag for the city’s taxpayers: $1.4 million.
That updated total now includes compensation for the attorneys who represented Hernandez in his whistleblower case, which claimed that he was demoted and ultimately felt he had no choice to but to take early retirement after Platt removed him as head of the city’s communications office in 2022.
Back in March of this year, a Jackson County jury ordered Kansas City to pay Hernandez $930,000 in damages. Next step was for the judge to decide how much the city should pay for Hernandez’ legal fees, which winners in civil trials are often entitled to receive as further compensation.
Cost could go higher
Lawyers Erin Vernon and Lynne Bratcher filed a court motion recently seeking payment from the city for the many hours of work they put in and expenses they incurred during the more than two years they prepared for the trial.
If the council rejects the settlement that the city’s law department has asked the City Council to approve this week, then Vernon and Bratcher said in their motion that they will ask that a judge order the city to pay them $1.05 million, the motion said. That would push the city’s total costs to nearly $2 million.
By settling for $600,000 less as total payment to Hernandez and his attorneys, the city would avoid the cost of appealing the jury’s verdict and the judge’s decision on legal fees.
The decision is up for possible discussion at Tuesday morning’s meeting of the council’s finance committee.
Platt was fired on March 27, three weeks after the Hernandez verdict. Mayor Quinton Lucas said then that the testimony at trial about Platt’s willingness to lie to the news media had harmed the city’s reputation. It was not the only reason for his dismissal, but it topped the list Lucas recited in announcing Platt’s ouster by a unanimous vote of the council.
Platt and the city are now in discussions about a financial settlement tied to his separation. His contract guaranteed him severance in an amount equal to his annual salary of $308,000, unless he was fired for “cause,” such as an illegal act, serious misconduct or violating his contract.
But any attempt to deny him a payout would almost certainly lead to a lawsuit. Settlement discussions are ongoing. Platt’s contract was sent to expire in August 2027.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
