Port Authority reaches settlement with atheist-friendly group over advertising | TribLIVE

The Port Authority of Alle­gheny County agreed to pay $20,000 plus legal fees to settle a lawsuit by a group that wanted to run an ad on buses seeking people who don't believe in God.

The settlement, made public in federal court documents filed on Wednesday, doesn't allow United Coalition of Reason Inc. of Washington to run its ad but should lead to a more consistent enforcement by the authority of its advertising policy, said Fred Edwords, the coalition's national director.

“We'll be watching, and we'll be seeing if they apply the rules fairly,” he said.

Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said the agency settled to avoid further costs and the uncertainty of litigation.

The coalition, which helps local atheist, agnostic and other nontheist groups gain visibility, sued the authority when it rejected an ad that said, “Don't believe in God? You are not alone,” and included the website of a local affiliate.

From the Friendly Atheist,

What made the atheists’ case especially compelling was that the Port Authority rejected the message saying that 'noncommercial ads' were not allowed… even though they ran such ads from plenty of other noncommercial groups, including churches, advocacy groups, and 'hospitals soliciting volunteers for medical studies.'

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Why take the settlement and not fight this out in court? Edwords explained it this way:

Although we still maintain that we were improperly denied the opportunity to run our ad, as originally conceived, under the Port Authority’s old rules, the old rules are now gone. So even if the courts allowed our original ad to run, it would merely be grandfathered in as an exception. It wouldn’t improve the situation for others.

It also means United CoR doesn’t have to waste any more time fighting a legal battle.

Port Authority reaches settlement with atheist-friendly group over advertising | TribLIVE