30 September 2008
Cradle of Liberty Proceeds With Case
Posted by admin under: policies .
Bill Shaw’s PAWaterCooler.com blog notes that the lawsuit brought by the Philidelphia Cradle of Liberty Boy Scouts of America council has been decided in federal court. This is the issue I became more acquainted with a couple months ago.
A judge has ruled that the lawsuit brought against the city does have Constitutional merit on First Amendment issues.
The lawsuit was filed in Federal court this past May by Cradle of Liberty (COL), just prior to the city ordering the scouting organization to vacate the building that the scouts built and gave to the city, in return for rent of $1.00 a year
The Philidelphia Daily News source for his article notes a couple of important things.
The local chapter claimed in its suit that the city violated its First Amendment rights, engaging in viewpoint discrimination and conditioning its subsidized rent on giving up its right to associate with whomever it wants.
U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter said the complaint provided “sufficient allegations” to conclude the city’s actions “may have compromised” the chapter’s First Amendment rights.
However, he said the court also “lacked a developed record” at this stage of the litigation and more discovery was needed.
The chapter also claimed the city breached a contract that said, in exchange for a nondiscriminatory statement and other concessions, the city wouldn’t seek eviction.
The chapter also claimed that the city was unjustly enriching itself by the eviction.
Although the city owns the building, the scouts have invested $60,000 annually in maintenance and invested more than $1.5 million in 1994 in renovating the building.
The chapter said the city wasn’t entitled to the benefits without compensating the chapter.
Buckwalter dismissed the chapter’s claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
So, they’re back to standing only on first amendment grounds. Hm. That didn’t work so well for the Sea Scouts up in Berkeley. If the PA BSA could have made a claim on their old contract for the rent then I would have thought they’d have a chance, but this looks to me like a defeat in the long run despite Mr. Shaw’s prediction. We’ll see.
Update: Brian Westley, a regular reader, formidable foe, and the Midwestern Region Spokesperson for Scouting for All, an advocacy group trying to get the BSA to change its policies regarding atheists and homosexuals, provides some helpful information. Yeah, that’s right. I said helpful, just like the Boy Scouts.
A PDF file of the opinion is here:
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/08D1140P.pdf
Thanks, Brian! 
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3 Comments so far...
Bill Shaw Says:
30 September 2008 at 4:21 pm.
Call me “Pollyanna”, but I do have faith in our justice system here in SEPA.
Some of them do, indeed, wear the white hat.
Thanks for citing my post.
Bill
Brian Westley Says:
30 September 2008 at 4:22 pm.
A PDF file of the opinion is here:
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/08D1140P.pdf
admin Says:
30 September 2008 at 4:46 pm.
You’re welcome, Bill. I hope the Scouts keep their home.
Brian, you may be my mortal nemesis, but you’re a good guy for providing the link. Thanks!
