A state court in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a couple in Tampa who sought to recoup donations they made to a Catholic school that they later accused of being too friendly to LGBTQ people.
The couple, Anthony and Barbara Scarpo, pledged to give the Academy of Holy Names $1.35 million but filed a lawsuit against it in June 2021, reported WFLA-TV. The legal action asserted that the school has “lost its way” and had promoted “woke culture.” The Scarpos said the school was promoting “gender identity, human sexuality and pregnancy termination among other hot button issues.”
Ruling from the bench, Judge Paul Huey of Hillsborough County dismissed the suit in late November.
Kevin P. Whitney, president of the school, released a statement that read, “In making his ruling, Judge Paul Huey noted that this case would have forced the court to define what constitutes a Catholic education – and that under the U.S. Constitution and established case law such matters are not the purview of American courts.”
The Scarpos raised 14 counts in their original lawsuit. Huey dismissed all of them, but Anthony Scarpo told the Tampa Times that the judge told him he would be willing to entertain two counts if the Scarpos were to reword them.
