Groups refile scholarshipssuit against U.

A lawyer representing the coalition suing the University over the number of Mayor's Scholarships it provides said he "intends" to file papers in court today forcing the City of Philadelphia to enter the lawsuit. Thomas Gilhool, a lawyer for the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, said yesterday that the coalition of labor unions, student groups and individuals suing the University will "bring the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, the City of Philadelphia and other members of the executive branch [of the City]" into the lawsuit. Gilhool said Mayor Edward Rendell and the city will have the opportunity to decide on which side of the suit they will join. "We are [forcing them to join] as 'involuntary plaintiffs' or 'plaintiffs' or 'defendants,' dependent in the first instance on their choice and dependent ultimately upon the facts and the requirements of the laws," he said. Plaintiffs in the suit argue that a 1977 ordinance requires the University to award Philadelphia high school students 125 new scholarships each year, totalling 500 at any one time. The University maintains the ordinance requires only 125 awards at a time. A Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge dismissed the coalition's initial suit last week because the plaintiffs failed to name the city and the mayor as parties to the suit. He noted that the ordinance at the heart of the dispute is a contract between the city and the University. Gilhool said he does not know how the city will choose to join the suit. But Rendell has said publicly in the past that he supports the University in the dispute. Rendell's chief legal advisor, Judith Harris, concluded in February that the University's interpretation of the 1977 ordinance is correct. Based on Harris's opinion, Rendell announced the city would not join the plaintiffs in suing the University. Former Mayor Wilson Goode had been preparing to join the suit late last year, when Rendell asked him to hold off on the move. Gilhool, who was given 20 days from the middle of last week to file an amended suit, said the suit has not changed significantly. "We have learned very much in the weeks and months since we first filed the case and will be updating the papers to incorporate that learning," Gilhool said. "[And] there are brand new, fresh faces who have not been in the courtroom before," he added. University General Counsel Shelley Green said yesterday she had not officially been informed of Gilhool's intention to file new papers but added that she is not surprised at the action. "There was no reason it couldn't have been filed the same day," Green said. Arthur Makadon, the University's lawyer, said yesterday that he had not heard about the filing of new papers, adding that the University will "respond in due course."

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