Judge tosses Girl Scouts’ recruitment suit vs. Boy Scouts

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit in which the Girl Scouts claim that the Boy Scouts are creating marketplace confusion and damaging their recruitment efforts through their use of words such as “scouts” and “scouting.” Manhattan Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ruled Thursday that the Boy Scouts can describe their activities as “scouting” without referring to gender and that the matter does not need to be put to a jury. Hellerstein said his written decision caps a “serious, contentious and expensive” litigation. The lawsuit was filed a year after the Boy Scouts announced in late 2017 that boy scouting and cub scouting would be open to girls.