Lucky v. Kansas City Star et al.
“These lies have cost me my reputation, my business, and my peace of mind.”
The Dhillon Law Group has filed a defamation lawsuit on behalf of Missouri businessman Lawrence Lucky against The Kansas City Star, its reporter Judy Thomas, and Justin Werner, alleging the newspaper knowingly published false and misleading claims that damaged Lucky’s reputation and livelihood.
The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, says that a series of articles published by The Kansas City Star in 2024 falsely accused Lucky of sexual misconduct, despite a year-long police investigation finding no evidence and the Jackson County Prosecutor declining to press charges. The complaint alleges that The Kansas City Star and Thomas deliberately ignored exculpatory evidence and selectively framed messages to fit a predetermined narrative.
“The Kansas City Star had the facts and still chose to run a false and defamatory story,” said Lucky, an entrepreneur who owns Scriptones LLC and American Joe Coffee in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. “These lies have cost me my reputation, my business, and my peace of mind.”
According to the lawsuit, Werner—who had previously worked with Lucky—filed a police report in July 2022, alleging that Lucky had engaged in illegal conduct with him in 2010 when he was 16 years old. However, an extensive police investigation found no evidence to support the allegations, confirming that Werner was an adult at the time of their interactions. In August 2023, police officially closed the case with no charges filed. Despite these findings, The Star published multiple articles accusing Lucky of misconduct, falsely portraying him as a predator and claiming he had been “banned” from the International House of Prayer Kansas City, a claim the lawsuit says is demonstrably false.
“The reporting in this case was not just irresponsible—it was reckless,” said Karin Sweigart, an attorney with Dhillon Law Group, representing Lucky. “The Kansas City Star had access to police findings that completely discredited these allegations, yet they published them anyway, causing irreparable harm to an innocent man.”
The lawsuit says that The Kansas City Star ran five separate articles amplifying Werner’s discredited accusations, falsely stating that multiple individuals accused Lucky of sexual abuse, that Lucky lured minors into sexual encounters by claiming he was “counseling” them, and that he filmed sexual encounters. It further alleges that Thomas and The Kansas City Star actively sought out former acquaintances of Lucky’s to reframe innocent past interactions as inappropriate.
“The police determined I did nothing wrong, but that didn’t stop The Kansas City Star from destroying my life,” Lucky said. “The articles led to threats of violence, business losses, and being ostracized from my own community. I have spent my life building a reputation based on integrity, and they took it away with a few keystrokes.”
The lawsuit seeks damages for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence, demanding a full retraction of the false claims and financial compensation for the harm caused. Lucky’s attorneys argue that The Kansas City Star and Thomas ignored clear evidence proving his innocence because the story fit a broader narrative about abuse in faith-based communities.
“False accusations like these not only destroy lives, but they undermine real survivors of abuse who deserve to be heard,” Sweigart said. “The Kansas City Star had a duty to report the truth. Instead, they published a smear campaign that has devastated my client’s life.”
