Philly owes $877,000 for Boy Scouts' eviction case legal fees

March 22, 2012

The city must pay nearly $900,000 after a failed effort to evict the Boy Scouts of America because of the group's ban on gays, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

The post-trial ruling is just the latest twist in a decade-long legal dispute over the Boy Scout oath, which requires members to be "morally straight."

The two sides have sought a compromise that would let the local Boy Scouts chapter keep its rent-free, city-owned headquarters without violating the national Scout policy.

However, a tentative deal struck since the city lost a court case last year has fallen apart. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter therefore said the city must pay $877,000 for the Scouts' legal fees. the rest