A city attorney for Kansas City has been accused of throwing tantrums, cursing and making a false claim in court during a multi-million dollar discrimination lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by former Kansas City Health Department employee Shahidah Hazziez, who said she faced intimidation while applying for a job with the city. She was eventually denied the job, which her attorneys believed was an act of retaliation for refusing to drop a prior workplace discrimination lawsuit.
During the trial, city attorney Tara Kelly, who was one of three lawyers representing the city, allegedly snatched a pen away from another attorney and scratched out what they had written on a legal pad.
Court transcripts from the trial show Kelly cursed at another attorney and stormed out of the Jackson County Circuit courtroom as punitive damages for the city were being discussed. The documents also show a judge issued a sanction against Kelly for falsely claiming Hazziez had been convicted of a crime.
This is the second time in two months that an attorney for the city has been accused of lying or making false statements in connection with a workplace lawsuit.
In March, city attorney Saskia Jacobse was accused of covering up findings that indicated a paramedic was discriminated against and harassed by her supervisor before she died. The findings were part of a lawsuit against the city filed by the woman’s family.
Jacobse was also one of two attorneys who represented the city in Hazziez’s two-day...
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