A federal judge has ordered the Boy Scouts Cradle of Liberty Council to post a nominal bond of $1 while the city continues efforts to evict the club from a city-owned building.
U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter issued the order on April 1, which was accompanied by a one-sentence explanation.
“While [the city] is generally correct that a case seeking protection for fundamental constitutional rights does not itself foreclose the posting of a bond, it is a very important consideration where the [Scouts] have made out a prima facie case and [the city] has provided no more than an appraisal of the fair market and rental value of the property in question,” the judge wrote.
Last month, city attorneys requested an $80,000 bond from the Scouts to help indemnify the city for losses sustained until it can gain possession of the building at 231-251 N. 22nd St.
If the Scouts remain in the facility after next month, they should post an additional bond of $13,333 for each succeeding month, city attorneys contended.
Buckwalter held a hearing on March 30 to determine the bond amount, which focused on the actual value of the deteriorating structure.
The Scouts’ appraiser placed the annual fair-market rental amount at $59,000, while the city’s appraiser placed the amount at $160,000.
In last week’s order, Buckwalter didn’t determine the fair-market rental amount. Instead, he indicated the Scouts’ constitutional rights would be violated, at this stage of the litigation, if they were required to post anything but a nominal bond.
City attorneys aren’t expected to appeal Buckwalter’s ruling, as federal judges are given wide discretion in setting preliminary-injunction bond amounts, sources told PGN.
The city is attempting to evict the Cradle of Liberty Council from the building, maintaining the organization is in violation of the city’s anti-bias law, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in accommodations.
In a prepared statement, the Scouts praised Buckwalter’s ruling: “We are pleased that the court recognized this matter involved the [Scouts’] important constitutional rights, and thus imposed a nominal bond payment.”
In recent court papers, the Scouts derided city officials for allegedly bowing to political pressure exerted by the LGBT community.
“The dirty secret of this case is that the city is selectively enforcing its policies, and targeting [the Scouts] specifically, because the city is bowing to political pressure exerted by an aggressive and vocal interest group,” the Scouts stated in the motion. “There is nothing principled about that; it is raw politics in an ugly form. The gay community in Philadelphia that has targeted [the Scouts] evidently cares nothing about [the Scouts’] myriad good works, it cares only about its own political agenda.”
Thomas W. Ude Jr., senior staff attorney with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, defended the right of LGBT individuals to engage in the democratic process.
“People who are discriminated against should stand up for themselves,” Ude told PGN. “Would we criticize someone who’s Jewish for protesting a city subsidy for a neo-Nazi group?”
Ude also said it’s wrong for the Scouts to portray themselves as victims. “The Boy Scouts are hurting gay youth and adults while they proclaim their own victim status.”
Margaret A. Downey, president of the Freethought Society, based in Pocopson, said the Scouts are sending the wrong message about equal opportunity in Philadelphia.
She said many people suffer due to the Scouts’ exclusionary policies; thus, the council should have been ordered to post a substantive bond.
“Judge Buckwalter should have taken into account all the harm resulting from the Scouts’ bigoted policies,” Downey said. “They have entangled the city in their bigotry, and it causes damage in so many ways.”
A jury trial on the Scouts’ eviction case is scheduled to begin April 21.
But at the bond hearing, Buckwalter said he doesn’t expect a trial because both sides have filed summary-judgment motions, and he thinks the case will be disposed of through his summary-judgment rulings.
The Scouts want Buckwalter to dissolve the preliminary injunction and replace it with a permanent injunction, allowing them to remain inside the building in perpetuity, without paying any rent or allowing openly gay participants, according to the Scouts’ motion.
City attorneys want Buckwalter to order the immediate eviction of the Scouts, since they haven’t proven their eviction would be unconstitutional and the city has cited ample law to justify the eviction.
The Scouts refuse to sign a lease with comprehensive anti-bias language covering gays and other protected categories — which has been a major stumbling block in resolving the dispute.
However, the Scouts have pointed out that several city tenants — including St. Joseph’s University, Colonial Dames of America, Philadelphia Girls’ Rowing Club, the Roman Catholic Church of Nativity BVM, Women for Greater Philadelphia and The Royal Heritage Society of the Delaware Valley — haven’t signed such comprehensive leases, yet still are permitted to occupy city buildings for little or no rent.
Tim Cwiek can be reached at (215) 625-8501 ext. 208.