UG sues longtime lawmaker over insurance dispute. He says it’s a defamation ploy
Wyandotte County’s local government filed suit against the longest-serving member of the Kansas Legislature over insurance fraud allegations related to his employment as a member on the local Board of Public Utilities.
The government is suing state Senator and former BPU Board President David Haley for allegedly using his local office to get health insurance benefits, since he joined in 2022, for his long-term partner without first providing required documentation of a common law marriage. He allegedly wrote his partner’s name down as his spouse on tax forms. Haley, meanwhile, said he was surprised he was being sued and called the suit a ploy to defame him.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday afternoon, maintains Haley intentionally misled BPU staff of his relationship status in order to collect insurance benefits for his partner through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, accused Haley on counts of fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. The government wants a jury trial and to be granted compensatory damages totaling more than $25,000 per count, so more than $125,000 total.
Haley told The Star that as of Wednesday afternoon, he hasn’t been formally served with the lawsuit or read the suit. He said he heard about it when people began calling him earlier in the day. He was surprised the Unified Government was suing him given he had just met with BPU staff late last week to discuss how the parties can reach a resolution, he said. They had not notified him of their intent to sue during that conversation, he said. Haley, who maintains he had approval to mark his partner as a spouse on tax forms, said he believes the allegations against him, which first came up publicly more than a month before the election, were designed to defame him, damage his career and keep him from winning re-election. He said his advocacy for lower utility rates and fees has rubbed the BPU and others the wrong way.
Haley, a Democrat, has held roles in the Kansas Legislature for about 30 years and served in his state Senate seat since 2001. State legislators convened in Topeka this week for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session.
Lawsuit
BPU board members in September removed Haley from his role as board president after officials said he violated ethics policy and may have used his position for private gain. The board governs the BPU, which is the public utility that offers water and electric services for Wyandotte County residents.
Voters in November 2025 reelected Haley to another term on the board. He beat his competitor, former KCK Mayor David Alvey, by more than 900 votes, according to certified election results from the Wyandotte County Election Office.
When Haley first joined the board after being elected in 2021, BPU board members received benefits from the public utility as 1099 employees. But the BPU in 2025 switched board members over as W2 employees, according to the suit.
When that changeover happened, employees and BPU board members had to provide documentation on the status of their health insurance beneficiaries. Among those required documents Haley was required to submit was a marriage certificate or common law marriage affidavit for his partner, according to the lawsuit.
During a July 2025 meeting with human resources staff, Haley allegedly told staff “he did not have a marriage certificate and did not possess nor would he sign documentation to support a common law marriage,” the lawsuit reads.
He asked staff to postpone his W2 transition until after the November election, it says. “Defendant Haley again requested to postpone the W2 transition until after his election noting, ‘… I really fucked this up’ and acknowledging Ms. Pineda and his children would lose health insurance,” according to the lawsuit. Haley later said that he denied using curse words such as that in any private or public setting.
Back in September, during the BPU board meeting when members fired Haley as their president, Haley maintained that he spoke with BPU staff about his relationship status ahead of time.
“Defendant Haley agreed to provide documentation of his joint bank statement, mortgage agreements, utility bills, and other pertinent information with Ms. Pineda,” the lawsuit alleges. “Defendant Haley never provided any such documentation.”
Unified Government attorneys attached the BPU’s benefits policy to its lawsuit against Haley. The policy states that people who wish to be enrolled on a BPU employee’s insurance as a dependent must be a legal spouse, the employee’s child or the legal spouse’s child.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 3:59 PM.
