KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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Roughly 200,000 property owners in Jackson County, Missouri, will begin to receive notifications Wednesday that they are part of a class action lawsuit related to the 2023 property assessment process.
A judge certified the class in the case Wheeler vs. Beatty earlier in the year.
The suit, scheduled for trial in December, asks a judge to refund property owners for property taxes they overpaid in 2024 and fix their property’s assessed values.
“It’s important to follow the law, especially when we’re talking about taxes,” said Jonathan Soper, an attorney representing the class. “There’s process in the law for a reason and it’s important to follow the law. It doesn’t matter whose yard sign you put in your yard, nobody should have to pay unlawful taxes.”
Audits, appeals and orders from the Missouri State Tax Commission have pointed out flaws in the county’s 2023 assessment process. The increases in valuations are part of the reason citizens recalled County Executive Frank White in 2025.
The county legislature appointed Phil LeVota as county executive. In November, he announced plans to credit property owners over three years (2026, 2027 and 2028) for taxes they overpaid based on the 2023 assessment.
LeVota doesn’t believe there is a need for the lawsuit since he has created policies which essentially mirror what the lawsuit is asking for and the county legislature is considering codifying those policies in law.
“My decision to give tax credits over three years is to take the burden off the school districts, off my own budget of returning that money and devastating county budgets, school budgets, city budgets,” LeVota said.
Notices will come in the form of email and/or letters in the mail. The notices come from the law firm suing the county, they are not from the county.
The notices will direct you to a website ran by the firm Humphrey, Farrington & McClain.
You do not have to do anything when you receive the notice. You have the option to opt out of the lawsuit by July 10. You can also hire your own attorney to represent you in the class action lawsuit.
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