Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society v. County of Lackawanna Transit System

158 F. Supp. 3d 247, 2016 WL 320750, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9254
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 27, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 3:15-833
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 158 F. Supp. 3d 247 (Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society v. County of Lackawanna Transit System) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society v. County of Lackawanna Transit System, 158 F. Supp. 3d 247, 2016 WL 320750, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9254 (M.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

MALACHY E. MANNION, United States District Judge

Pending before the court is a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs complaint, (Doc. 1), filed on behalf of defendant County of Lackawanna Transit System (“COLTS”), for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (Doc. 6). Plaintiff alleges that COLTS’ policy regarding advertisements on its buses violated its right to freedom of speech under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. For the reasons that follow, COLTS’ motion to dismiss will be DENIED.

I. RELEVANT BACKGROUND1

Plaintiff, Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society, filed a complaint on April 28, 2015, alleging that COLTS’ advertising policies violated its First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Plaintiff is an unincorporated association, with its principal office in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Plaintiff alleges that its mission is “to facilitate a social, educational, activist, and philosophical coalition of atheists, agnostics, humanists, secularists, and skeptics predicated on support and community that upholds the separation of church and state and promotes critical thinking.” COLTS is a public transportation authority operating under the Municipal Authorities Act of 1945, 53 Pa.C.S. § 5607, and is headquartered is in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It Is alleged that at all relevant times COLTS acted under color of state law.

Plaintiff alleges that COLTS has a longstanding policy of leasing advertising space on its vehicles, both exterior and interior, route schedules, literature, bus shelters, and other property. COLTS has opened its advertising space to the- public solely to raise revenue as opposed to further any organizational policy or goal. Plaintiff alleges that COLTS had a practice to exercise its discretion randomly and to favor some viewpoints over others. Plaintiff further alleges that in January 2012 it submitted an advertisement (hereinafter “ad”) to COLTS for publication on the exterior of buses stating “Atheist. NEPA Freeth-ought.org.” (Doc. 1, Ex. A).. In February 2012, COLTS rejected plaintiff’s ad since [250]*250COLTS believed it may spark public debate and attacked religion.

The June 21, 2011 COLTS’ Advertising Policy, which was applicable at the time of its initial rejection of plaintiffs ad, prohibited advertising “that is deemed in COLTSf] sole discretion to be derogatory to any.. .religion,” or “that [is] objectionable, controversial or would generally be offensive to COLTS’ ridership based solely on the discretion of COLTS.” COLTS’ policy further stated that “it is COLTS’ declared intent not to allow its transit vehicles or property to become a public forum for dissemination, debate, or discussion of public issues.” (Doc. 1, Ex. B). COLTS’ policy also prohibited ads for tobacco products, alcohol, and political candidates.

Despite the comments by a COLTS’ solicitor to a reporter that COLTS had “been very consistent in not allowing ads that violate the policy,” (Doc. 1, Ex. C), plaintiff alleges that before COLTS rejected plaintiffs ad in February 2012, it had accepted several advertisements from religious organizations and ads later deemed to violate its policy, including ads from the following: 1. St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church; 2. St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church; 3. Christian Women’s Devotional Alliance; 4. Hope Church; 5. a School Board candidate; 6. Brewer’s Outlet, a beer distributor; and 7. Old Forge Times, an online blog containing links to anti-Semitic websites. Additionally, plaintiff alleges that COLTS had an electric sign on the front of one its buses with the message “God Bless America” and only stopped displaying the message after plaintiff submitted its advertisement.

On August 29, 2018, plaintiff submitted another advertisement for placement on COLTS’ busses stating, “Atheists. NEPA Freethought Society. NEPAfreeth-ought.org.” (Doc. 1, Ex. D). This ad was also rejected by COLTS in a letter dated September 9, 2013, (Doc. 1, Ex. G), which stated:

COLTS does not accept advertisements that promote the belief that “there is no God” or advertisements that promote the belief that “there is a God.” As stated in COLTS’ Advertising Policy, it is COLTS’ declared intent not to allow its property to become a public forum for the dissemination, debate, or discussion of public issues. The existence or non-existence of a supreme deity is a public issue. COLTS believes that your proposed advertisement may offend or alienate a segment of its ridership and thus negatively affect its revenue.... It is COLTS’ goal to provide a safe and welcoming environment on its buses for the public at large. The acceptance of ads that promote debate over public issues such as... the existence of God in a confined space like the inside of a bus detracts from this goal.

(Emphasis original).

On September 17, 2013, COLTS adopted a new advertising policy. (Doc. 1, Ex. F). The 2013 policy provides that COLTS will not accept advertisements: “that promote the existence or non-existence of a supreme deity, deities, being or beings; that address, promote, criticize or attack a religion or religions, religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs; that directly quote or cite scriptures, religious text or texts involving religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs; or are otherwise religious in nature.” It also provides that it is COLTS’ “intent to maintain its advertising space on its property as a nonpublic forum and not to allow its transit vehicles or property to become a public forum for the dissemination, debate, or discussion of public issues or issues that are political or religious in nature.” Plaintiff alleges that COLTS implemented its 2013 policy “purportedly designed to prevent controversy and ‘public debate’ in a [251]*251vague, inconsistent, and discretionary manner.”

On July 21, 2014, plaintiff submitted a new ad which was nearly identical to its previously rejected ads and, its ■ new ad was rejected under COLTS’ 2013 policy. (Doc. 1, Exs. G & H). Also, on July 21, 2014, plaintiff submitted another new ad which merely stated “NEPA Freethought Society. Meetup.com/nepafreethoughtso-ciety.” (Doc. 1, Ex: I). This latest ad was accepted by COLTS for publication on July 21, 2014 and, it began to run on a bus in October 2014.

Plaintiff alleges that all restrictions on advertising and concerns regarding religious advertisements were ignored by COLTS until it tried to advertise, and that the ad space on COLTS’ property had been historically available to all speakers. In fact, it is alleged that for at least a decade prior to January 2012, COLTS had never rejected any advertisement. Plaintiff also states that it seeks “to run one of [its] previously rejected ‘atheist’ ads, to further its mission of bringing like-minded individuals together for social, educational, and philosophical discussion related to their belief in the nonexistence of god.” Additionally, plaintiff alleges that “COLTS’ application of its Policy hindered and will continue to hinder [plaintiff] from achieving its goals by preventing it from running any advertisement on COLTS busses in 2012 and 2013 and by forcing [plaintiff] to omit the word ‘atheist’ from any advertisement, rendering the meaning-of the advertisement and focus of the group unclear, thus interfering with [plaintiffs] efforts to reach its intended audience.”

Count I of the complaint raises claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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158 F. Supp. 3d 247, 2016 WL 320750, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northeastern-pennsylvania-freethought-society-v-county-of-lackawanna-pamd-2016.