Cradle of Liberty Council V. City of Philadelphia - Outcome

Outcome

On June 15, 2010, the case went to trial in Federal Court and 8 days later, on June 23, 2010, a Federal Jury of eight unanimously sided with the Cradle of Liberty Council and against the city's unlawful selective eviction of the Boy Scouts.

Under federal Civil Rights Law, the Cradle of Liberty Council Council is also entitled to collect its $877,000 of legal costs from the city's unlawful action to abridge the Boy Scouts' Constitutionally protected civil right of Freedom of Association. As a result, the city and the Cradle of Liberty Council engaged in negotiations to transfer the building from the city to the council in exchange for the council not collecting those legal costs from the city. Transfer of the land and building from city to the council would have effectively ended the controversy.

While the Boy Scouts offered to then settle the dispute by having the City pay half of the legal fees in return for title to the building and the city accepted, the city council later reneged. On March 2, 2012, the Federal judge then formally ordered the city pay all of the Boy Scouts legal fees and denied the motion for an appeal to settle the matter. The Boy Scouts may also continue reside in the building rent free as they have done since they had paid for construction of the building in 1929.

However, the federal District Court's decision is currently pending on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The City of Philadelphia filed its brief on appeal on November 19, 2012.

Several public interest and religious groups have filed amicus briefs in favor of the City and urging reversal of the District Court's decision. A joint amicus brief was filed on November 26, 2012 in favor of the City by the Uniterian Universalist Association, the Anti-Defamation League, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Jewish Social Policy Action Network, the Union of Reform Judaism, and the Reconciling United Methodists of Eastern Pennsylvania, as well as other religious groups and leaders supporting Defendant-Appellant City of Philadelphia. A separate joint amicus brief was filed on November 26, 2012 in favor of the City of Philadelphia by the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, the Haman Rights Campaign, Equality Forum, PFLAG Philadelphia, Equality Pennsylvania, and other public interest organizations in Support of Appellant The City of Philadelphia and for Reversal of the District Court. A third, separate amicus brief was filed on November 26, 2012 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania in Support of Appellant and Urging Reversal.

Court dockets of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reflect the filing of an appeal by the City of Philadelphia appeal, and and the subsequent filing of all of the above-named briefs.