City of Lee's Summit refuses to pay $16M in lawsuit

LEE'S SUMMIT, Missouri - Ted White Jr. is back in town and says it is time to finally get his money.

White won a $16 million judgment for a wrongful conviction, but the City of Lee’s Summit is refusing to pay up.

More than a decade ago, White was convicted of sexually abusing his stepdaughter and spent more than five years in prison.

However, he was later acquitted because it turned out his ex-wife, Tina McKinley, was having an affair with the lead detective investigating the case. Tina eventually married Richard McKinley.

After being freed from prison in 2006, White sued. Before the case went to court, the City of Lee’s Summit signed an indemnification agreement , which would pay any damages as long as the police chief and the City were removed from the lawsuit.

This month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a final judgment and mandate requiring the $16 million in damages awarded in a 2008 ruling to White be paid.

City officials now say that making a payment would violate city ordinance, according to a statement released by Mayor Randy Rhoads.

White, who said he has already been “kicked more than anyone can be kicked,” claims the City is avoiding accountability.

“There is a better way to do this than what they’re forcing me to do,” said White. “What they’re forcing me to do is fight them again in court, which is costing taxpayers a lot of money.”

White plans to hold a rally Thursday outside City Hall, before addressing Mayor Rhoads and city council members, asking them to end the legal battle.