The Boy Scouts of America Cradle of Liberty Council — the target of a lawsuit eight years ago because it refused to vacate a city-owned building — now finds itself the target of three lawsuits stemming from a fatal vehicular accident.
Cradle oversees Scouting activities in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware counties.
Cradle allegedly failed to ensure the safety of a Scouting event in Northeast Philadelphia in 2013. After the event, a Scout leader lost control of his vehicle while driving home, resulting in the death of a local Boy Scout.
In 2008, Cradle was sued by the city after it refused to vacate a city-owned building on the Ben Franklin Parkway due to its antigay membership policies. The protracted litigation, which eventually was transferred to federal court, ended in 2013 when Cradle left the building, in return for $825,000 from the city.
The three lawsuits currently pending against Cradle stem from a Scouting event in Pennypack Park in October 2013, during which Scout leader Joseph F. Snyder allegedly became exhausted.
The service-oriented event focused on cleaning up a polluted pond in the park.
While driving home with four Boy Scouts as passengers, Snyder lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a parked vehicle. One of the passengers, Christopher Alvelo, was killed, and three others were seriously injured.
Victims and surviving family members have filed suit, naming Cradle, the national BSA organization and Snyder among the defendants.
The lawsuits allege that Scout officials failed to adhere to their own safety protocols when planning and conducting the clean-up project.
One of Snyder’s surviving passengers, Nicholas Prendergast, filed suit in October, claiming Scout officials spent more time focusing on sexual-orientation issues than they did on safety issues.
“It is clear that [Scout officials] don’t care enough about this [safety] problem,” Prendergast’s suit stated. “[They] have spent a significant amount of time, money and attention on determining whether someone should be affiliated with a troop because of that individual’s sexual orientation.”
Prendergast’s suit added: “The decision has been made, unfortunately, to not spend a fraction of those same resources on ensuring that someone is qualified to safely lead a Boy Scout troop, and ensure that all proper and required principles, policies, procedures and requirements and/or regulations regarding vehicle safety are followed.”
The Prendergast suit also noted that Cradle’s chief operating officer is compensated about $325,000 annually.
Additionally, the suit asserted that Snyder spent several hours in a frigid pond, without protective gear. As a result, Snyder became chilled along with being exhausted, further compromising his ability to drive safely.
Prendergast’s attorney, Robert T. Lynch, issued this statement to PGN: “Thank you for your interest and coverage of this important matter. As my client’s matter is in litigation, I will not have any comment at this current time.”
Daniel A. Templar, Cradle’s Scouting executive, declined to comment on the active litigation yet noted, “The entire Boy Scout family has the deepest sympathy and empathy for all who have been impacted by this tragic incident.”
The three suits pending against Cradle have been consolidated for purposes of judicial economy. A jury trial has been tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 4, 2017, in Courtroom 483 of City Hall.
Cradle’s eviction from the city-owned Parkway Building involved lengthy litigation, during which the club claimed its constitutional right to exclude gays was violated by the city.
A federal jury rendered a split verdict in 2010, and the city appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Before the appeals court could rule on the matter, Cradle agreed to leave the building in return for a $825,000 payment from the city.
Cradle is currently headquartered in a building in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County.