KCK resident drops bribery allegations in lawsuit against UG commissioner candidate
A day before voters decide whether to promote Sixth District Commissioner Phil Lopez to an at-large seat, the Kansas City, Kansas, resident who is suing him removed several allegations from her lawsuit.
That lawsuit, which once accused Lopez of political bribery, intentional evasion of the insurance process, property damage and child endangerment, now includes one cause of action against him: negligence.
“Defendants owed Plaintiff and her child a duty of reasonable care and breached that duty through unsafe work practices that caused foreseeable harm,” according to the amended lawsuit.
Court documents reflect that the amended petition was filed Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours before voters go to the polls to vote in a string of local political races — including one of which Lopez is running in.
Tuesday is Election Day, and Lopez, elected to District 6 in 2023, wants to be District 2 At-Large Commissioner on the board that governs the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. He will face newcomer and attorney Andrew Kump for the position held by outgoing Commissioner Tom Burroughs.
Amanda Watson, a KCK resident, in August filed a lawsuit alleging Lopez committed political bribery, property damage, child endangerment and more. She said that employees of Lopez’s business, Arboles Tree Trimming, dropped branches on her home, and that an employee encouraged her young son to feed branches through a wood chipper. The child was not harmed.
She also said that Lopez, in his capacity as commissioner, offered her small business incentives in order to avoid having to file an insurance claim over the matter. Lopez denied those claims.
Watson also filed suit against her property management group, Royal Estates Mobile Home Park, for negligent hiring of Lopez, and Arboles Tree Trimming.
And although all three defendants are still named in the lawsuit, and Watson mentioned that Lopez did not provide proof of liability insurance, the amended suit no longer mentions Lopez’s phone calls to Watson, during which she said she felt Lopez was promising to help her find a new store for her dressmaking business and money to make it happen.
Although it’s no longer a court matter, the Unified Government’s ethics commission is reviewing the bribery complaint that Watson filed against Lopez. Misty Brown, ethics administrator, told The Star on Monday that the commission has decided to hold off on taking action until Watson’s lawsuit plays out.
The amended lawsuit came more than three weeks after an October hearing during which Wyandotte County District Judge Constance Alvey instructed Watson to refile the lawsuit, given it included a mix of civil and criminal allegations. Alvey can only rule on civil claims whilst overseeing a case that’s filed in court as civil.
Watson, who is representing herself, said she also filed a police report against Lopez’s employee — named only in court documents as “Dustin” — who allegedly allowed her son to feed the branches through. Watson said she filed a police report to the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, who then transferred the case to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
A spokesperson with KBI said in an October email to The Star that the agency was not investigating the case.
