Opinion ID: 1897530
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Public Accommodation

Text: Our case law identifies various factors that are helpful in determining whether Boy Scouts is a public accommodation. We ask, generally, whether the entity before us engages in broad public solicitation, whether it maintains close relationships with the government or other public accommodations, or whether it is similar to enumerated or other previously recognized public accommodations. Broad public solicitation has consistently been a principal characteristic of public accommodations. Our courts have repeatedly held that when an entity invites the public to join, attend, or participate in some way, that entity is a public accommodation within the meaning of the LAD. See, e.g., Clover Hill Swimming Club, Inc. v. Goldsboro, 47 N.J. 25, 33, 219 A. 2d 161 (1966) (stating that [a]n establishment which by advertising or otherwise extends an invitation to the public generally is a place of public accommodation); Sellers v. Philip's Barber Shop, 46 N.J. 340, 345, 217 A. 2d 121 (1966) (stating that [a]n establishment which caters to the public or by advertising or other forms of invitation induces patronage generally is a place of public accommodation); Fraser, supra, 44 N.J. at 488, 210 A. 2d 208 (stating that [i]n light of the nature of the facilities and activities offered to the general public by respondent's day camp, we hold that it is a public accommodation); Little League, supra, 127 N.J.Super. at 531, 318 A. 2d 33 (stating that Little League is a public accommodation because the invitation is open to children in the community at large); Evans v. Ross, 57 N.J.Super. 223, 231, 154 A. 2d 441 (App.Div.) (stating that LAD requires an establishment which caters to the public, and by advertising or other forms of invitation induces patronage generally, [not to] refuse to deal with members of the public who have accepted the invitation), certif. denied, 31 N.J. 292, 157 A. 2d 362 (1959); see also Kiwanis Int'l v. Ridgewood Kiwanis Club, 806 F. 2d 468, 475 (3d Cir.1986) (stating that LAD applies whenever the organization or club ... invite[s] an unrestricted and unselected public to join as members); Brounstein v. American Cat Fanciers Ass'n, 839 F.Supp. 1100, 1107 (D.N.J. 1993) (stating that `primary [public accommodation] consideration' under LAD is `whether the invitation to gather is open to the public at large') (quoting Kiwanis Int'l, supra, 806 F. 2d at 474). BSA engages in broad public solicitation through various media. In 1989, for example, BSA spent more than $1 million on a national television advertising campaign. A New York Times article describes one of Boy Scouts'hip television ads, quoting a BSA spokesman as stating, scouting [is] a product and we've got to get the product into the hands of as many consumers as we can. [6] Kim Foltz, TV Ad's Hip Pitch: It's `Cool' to be a Boy Scout, N.Y. Times, Oct. 30, 1989. BSA has also advertised in widely distributed magazines, such as Sports Afield and Redbook. Local Boy Scout councils engage in substantial public solicitation. BSA frequently supplies the councils with recruiting materials, such as television and radio public service announcements, advertisements, and other promotional products. Monmouth Council, in particular, has expressly invited the public by conducting recruiting drives and by providing local troops with BSA-produced posters and promotions aimed at attracting new members. Boy Scout troops also take part in perhaps the most powerful invitation of all, albeit an implied one: the symbolic invitation extended by a Boy Scout each time he wears his uniform in public. See Sellers, supra, 46 N.J. at 345, 217 A. 2d 121 (finding that barber shop's pole extended implied invitation to public). A boy in a uniform may well be Boy Scouts' strongest recruiting tool. By encouraging scouts to wear their uniforms to school, and when participating in School Nights and public demonstrations, Boy Scouts invites the curiosity and awareness of others in the community. Boy Scouts admits that it encourages these displays in the hope of attracting new members. On the facts before us, it cannot be controverted that Boy Scouts reaches out to the public in a myriad of ways designed to increase and sustain a broad membership base. Whether by advertising or active recruitment, or through the symbolism of a Boy Scout uniform, the intent is to send the invitation to as many members of the general public as possible. Once Boy Scouts has extended this invitation, the LAD requires that all members of the public must have equal rights ... and not be subjected to the embarrassment and humiliation of being invited[,] ... only to find [the] doors barred to them. Evans, supra, 57 N.J.Super. at 231, 154 A. 2d 441. Boy Scouts is a public accommodation, not simply because of its solicitation activities, but also because it maintains close relationships with federal and state governmental bodies and with other recognized public accommodations. Our cases have held that certain organizations that benefit from relationships with the government and other public accommodations are themselves places of public accommodation within the meaning of the LAD. In Little League, for example, the court concluded that Little League was public in the added sense that local governmental bodies characteristically make the playing areas available to the local leagues, ordinarily without charge. 127 N.J.Super. at 531, 318 A. 2d 33, aff'd, 67 N.J. 320, 338 A. 2d 198 (1974). More recently, in Frank v. Ivy Club, 120 N.J. 73, 79, 110, 576 A. 2d 241 (1990), a female student sought membership in the all-male eating clubs at Princeton University. Although they did not publicly solicit new members, we held that the clubs' close relationship to the University, a place of public accommodation, rendered them subject to the LAD. Id. at 110, 576 A. 2d 241. It is clear that Boy Scouts benefits from a close relationship with the federal government. Indeed, BSA was chartered by Congress in 1916, 36 U.S.C.A. § 30901, and has been the recipient of equipment, supplies, and services from the federal government, also by act of Congress, 10 U.S.C.A. § 2544. Thus, the Secretary of Defense, 10 U.S.C.A. § 2544(a), and other departments of the federal government, 10 U.S.C.A. § 2544(h), have been authorized to lend to the Boy Scouts of America, for the use and accommodation of Scouts, Scouters, and officials who attend any national or world Boy Scout Jamboree, such cots, blankets, commissary equipment, flags, refrigerators, and other equipment and without reimbursement, furnish services and expendable medical supplies, as may be necessary or useful to the extent that items are in stock and items or services are available. [10 U.S.C.A. § 2544(a).] Since its inception, BSA has maintained a special association with each successive President of the United States. According to a BSA public relations fact sheet: One of the causes contributing to the success of the Boy Scouts of America has been the thoughtful, wholehearted way in which each President of the United States since William Howard Taft in 1910 has taken an active part in the work of the movement. Each served as Honorary President during his term in office. Another fact sheet states that seventyeight percent of the members of the 100th Congress participated in scouting. Boy Scouts also maintains a close relationship with the military. According to a BSA pamphlet entitled Organizations That Use Scouting, military personnel serve Scouting in many capacities. At many [Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Coast Guard] installations, facilities are available for Scouting shows, meetings, training activities, and other similar Scouting events. Monmouth Council, in particular, has used the New Jersey military installation known as Fort Monmouth. Likewise, state and local governments have contributed to Boy Scouts' success. [7] In New Jersey, the Legislature has authorized the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection to stock with fish any body of water in this state that is under the control of and for the use of ... Boy Scouts, N.J.S.A. 23:2-3, and has exempted Boy Scouts from having to pay motor vehicle registration fees, N.J.S.A. 39:3-27. Local governmental agencies, such as fire departments and law enforcement agencies, serve Boy Scouts by sponsoring scouting units. Nationally, over 50,000 youth members belong to units sponsored by fire departments, whereas in New Jersey alone over 130 units are sponsored by fire departments and over 100 units are sponsored by law enforcement agencies. Perhaps Boy Scouts' connection to public schools and school-affiliated groups constitutes its single most beneficial governmental relationship. Organizations That Use Scouting advises that the education field holds our greatest potential. Boy Scouts currently recruits many of its members through its presence in and use of school facilities. A large percentage of scouting units nationally, as well as in New Jersey, are chartered by public schools and affiliated organizations. Moreover, public schools and community colleges often host scouting meetings, activities, and recruiting events such as School Nights. School Night for Scouting [is a] recruiting plan operated by many councils in connection with the schools. Under this plan, an open scout meeting is held at a school in order to encourage students to join scouting. Public schools not only aid Boy Scouts by allowing the organization to use their facilities after school, but also during the school day. According to Boy Scouts, [m]ore and more of our schools are becoming available for other than formal education.... Inschool Scouting, where the pack, troop, team, or post meets during the school day, is recognized in many areas. In 1992, close to 700,000 students throughout the nation were taught the Boy Scouts' Learning for Life curriculum during the school day. Given Boy Scouts' public solicitation activities, and considering its close relationship with governmental entities, it is not surprising that Boy Scouts resembles many of the recognized and enumerated places of public accommodation. Similarity to the places of public accommodation listed in the LAD has been a benchmark for determining whether the unlisted entity should be included. Cf. Board of Chosen Freeholders v. New Jersey, 159 N.J. 565, 576, 732 A. 2d 1053 (1999) (stating that [u]nder the ejusdem generis principle of statutory construction, when specific words follow more general words in a statutory enumeration, we can consider what additional items might also be included by asking whether those items are similar to those enumerated). In Fraser v. Robin Dee Day Camp , for example, this Court held that a day camp is the type of accommodation which the Legislature intended to reach because a day camp offers accommodations which have many attributes in common with swimming pools, recreation and amusement parks, motion picture houses, theatres, music halls, gymnasiums, kindergarten and primary schools, all of which are specifically enumerated in the LAD. 44 N.J. at 487, 210 A. 2d 208. The Appellate Division in Little League identified Little League's `educational or recreational nature' as a basis for the court's conclusion that Little League was similar to the types of public accommodations listed in the statute. 127 N.J.Super. at 531, 318 A. 2d 33 (quoting Fraser, supra, 44 N.J. at 487, 210 A. 2d 208). Similarly, Boy Scouts' educational and recreational nature, like the day camp in Fraser or the baseball teams in Little League, further supports our conclusion that Boy Scouts is a place of public accommodation under the LAD. See, e.g., Advancement Guidelines 4 (1992 ed.) (stating that [e]ducation and fun are functions of the scouting movement).