ANN ARBOR, MI — Ending a six month legal battle
over Christmas displays, the Town of Palm Beach, Florida this week
paid $50,000 in attorney fees to the Thomas More Law Center pursuant
to a previously entered federal court Consent Judgment. The Town also
acknowledged and publicly apologized for its failure to respond to
multiple offers by two of its residents, Maureen Donnell and Fern
Tailer deNarvaez, to donate Christian Nativity scenes for display
alongside two Town-sponsored Jewish Menorahs during the Christmas
holiday season.
Donnell commented, "We won everything that we wanted. All religions
will be treated equally. That's all we were fighting for. Now the Town
Council must address every situation that comes up, which they did not
do with us.”
“I'm so glad we were able to come to an equitable agreement through
the efforts of the Thomas More Law Center," added deNarvaez.
The Consent Judgment signed by a federal district court judge in
late May acknowledged the importance of recognizing religious holidays
and provided that “Should the Town erect or allow the display of
religious symbols on public property…all religious symbols will be
given equal treatment.” The court also ordered the Town to enact and
make public within 90 days written procedures for reviewing citizen
requests for religious displays on public property. The Town was also
ordered to pay $1.00 to each woman as nominal damages for the Town’s
negligence in responding to the women’s requests.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More
Law Center commented, “This lawsuit and the resulting legal fees would
have never occurred had the Town displayed some common courtesy toward
two of its residents. Clearly, Christians of Palm Beach were being
denied the right to express their religious message in a public forum
that was open to other religious faiths. This Consent Judgment will
bring to an end the Town’s discrimination towards the Christian faith
during one of its holiest seasons.”
The case against the Town of Palm Beach began last December after
the Town ignored four requests by Donnell and deNarvaez to display
privately donated Nativity scenes. The women contacted the Thomas More
Law Center which immediately filed a federal lawsuit alleging that for
the past two years the Town of Palm Beach had permitted the public
display of Jewish Menorahs at various prominent public locations, but
had repeatedly refused to review the women’s requests to allow
Christian Nativity scenes displayed alongside the approved Menorahs.
Town officials attempted to publicly justify their treatment of the
women by claiming that displaying a Nativity scene alongside a Menorah
would be unconstitutional. Yet, documents obtained by the Law Center
confirmed that months before the lawsuit was filed, Town officials
were informed that the display of a Nativity scene alongside a Menorah
was constitutionally permissible.
In the Consent Judgment, Town officials agreed that both Donnell
and deNarvaez desired to have a Christian Nativity displayed alongside
the Menorahs so that Jews and Christians could celebrate together
their religious faith, and that the lawsuit may not have been
necessary had the Town not repeatedly ignored their requests.
According to Edward L. White III, Associate Counsel with the Law
Center, “Thanks to Mrs. Donnell and Mrs. deNarvaez, all citizens will
now be able to display their religious symbols equally on public
property in Palm Beach without fear of discrimination.”
The Thomas More Law Center is involved in numerous cases across the
country dealing with the public display of Christian religious
symbols, including a similar lawsuit against the New York City public
school system whose written policy permits students to display the
Jewish Menorah and the Islamic Star and Crescent, but prohibits
students from displaying Christian Nativity scenes. That case is on
appeal in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
