KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Attorneys representing the city of Kansas City, Missouri, are asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed last month by the city’s former director of communications.
Last month, Chris Hernandez, the city’s former communications director, filed a lawsuit alleging he was demoted for not helping City Manager Brian Platt allegedly lie to the media.
In the lawsuit, Hernandez claimed Platt had encouraged staff to “lie to the media.”
Last Wednesday, the city filed its response to the lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court, asking the judge to dismiss the case.
In the motion, the city contends that Platt didn’t tell Hernandez to lie, but rather that Platte “asked why he couldn’t lie to the media.”
Later in the motion, the city said regardless of whether Platt lied, there is no “law, rule or regulation” preventing lying to the press.
“To be clear, the City does not endorse lying to the press, nor did it, but even if it does and it did, such an act is not a violation of any law, rule or regulation,” attorneys write.
Judge Margene Burnette has not indicated when a ruling would be made on the motion.
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