KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri appeals court threw out most of a $6.5 million judgment awarded to a former Kansas City police officer after he was fired.
Danny Holmes received the $6.5 million judgment after he alleged in a lawsuit that he was fired because of racial discrimination, breach of contract and whistleblower violations.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals reduced the award to $500,000 in actual and punitive damages. The court said a Jackson County jury was correct when it found the fact that Holmes is black contributed to his firing.
The Kansas City Star reports (http://bit.ly/xFw68M0) the appeals court ruled Holmes' whistleblower claim was barred by sovereign immunity, and that Holmes did not have a contractual right to sue for wrongful termination.