Wyandotte County commissioner sues resident who sued him first, says she’s lying
A Wyandotte County commissioner is countersuing the KCK resident who had first sued him last summer over a tree trimming service that allegedly went awry.
Sixth District Commissioner Philip Lopez is accusing resident Amanda Watson of intentionally abusing the legal process and defaming him in order to harm his political campaign, which he says caused him to lose in the Nov. 4 election. Lopez, still a district commissioner, had aimed to win an at-large seat but lost to his opponent Andrew Kump by about 1,000 votes.
In his suit, Lopez claims that Watson’s initial lawsuit against him, filed in August, and her willingness to speak with The Star about their ongoing legal dispute has harmed his local reputation and cost him the at-large seat.
“Plaintiff knew or should have known that her Petition contained false and improper allegations of criminal misconduct levied against Mr. Lopez,” according to Lopez’s counterclaim.
Attorneys representing Lopez filed the counterclaim on Nov. 17 in Wyandotte County District Court, according to legal documents.
Suing a commissioner
Watson, a local dress maker, initially filed a suit alleging Lopez committed political bribery, property damage, child endangerment and more after she said his company wouldn’t take responsibility for damaging her roof or putting her child at risk when it was trimming trees nearby.
She said employees of Lopez’s business, Arboles Tree Trimming, dropped branches on her home, and that an employee encouraged her young son to put branches through a wood chipper. The child was not harmed.
She also initially said that Lopez refused to provide his insurance information and, as a county commissioner, offered her small business incentives in exchange for avoiding having to file an insurance claim over the tree trimming matter. Lopez during an interview with The Star in August denied these claims.
The company that manages her property, Royal Estates Mobile Home, and Lopez’s business were also named in the suit.
After filing, Watson talked with a reporter about her experience with Lopez and her lawsuit against him.
Narrowing scope
On Nov. 3 — which was both the deadline a judge gave her and a day before Lopez appeared on voters’ ballots — Watson removed several allegations from her lawsuit and only left one cause of action against him: negligence, for property damage and emotional distress.
That change came after an October hearing where Wyandotte County District Judge Constance Alvey instructed Watson, who is representing herself, to amend and refile her suit, given it included an unclear mix of civil and criminal allegations. A lawsuit in civil court needed to contain only civil claims.
The following day, Lopez, who currently serves District 6 on the Unified Government Board of Commissioners, lost the District 2 At-Large seat to competitor Andrew Kump.
Shortly after, on Nov. 10, Alvey dismissed Watson’s claims against the parties for negligent hiring and supervision, failure to verify an insurance plan, intentional interference with the insurance process, failure to cooperate with safety and insurance reporting requirements and child endangerment. Royal Estates Mobile Home Park was dismissed from the case altogether, according to court records.
Watson on Wednesday morning filed an objection to Lopez’s countersuit. She suggested that some of her claims against him were dismissed based on technicalities related to how she filed them, not because of their merit, and she said she believes those claims can be brought up again in court at a later date.
She asked the court to “direct that the record reflect that no dismissal issued on November 10, 2025 was ‘with prejudice’ and Plaintiff retains the right to refile dismissed claims in proper form,” according to court records.
Countersuit
Lopez’s counterclaim maintains that Watson lied in her initial lawsuit and that information was disseminated to a larger audience when she spoke with The Star about the case.
“Plaintiff Watson intended that these false, misleading, and defamatory statements be communicated to other third parties by repeatedly discussing the same with a reporter for the Kansas City Star,” according to the counterclaim.
The Star published five stories about the case, including about court decisions that delayed its timeline and about Watson’s refiling that changed the scope of her allegations.
Lopez’s counterclaim also reads that Watson allegedly knew her initial claim was invalid but waited to file until right before the election to harm his candidacy, and “to extort money from him or his insurance carrier as a public servant seeking re-election, and when that failed, to intentionally ruin his reputation in the community.”
Lopez is seeking financial relief in the amount of his attorney’s fees and for damages to his reputation.
