OREM -- Ruth G. Peterson Mayne may not be as focused these days as she once was on claiming the right to display religious-oriented materials in Orem.
The 85-year-old resident is, after all, a newlywed busy blending two households and making a new life with her 86-year-old husband.Peterson recently married J.H. Mayne of American Fork.
But she's just as passionate as she ever was about pursuing the legal right to put Easter posters on the front doors of the Orem Senior Friendship Center.
"You're darn tootin' there will be (art up) for this coming Easter," Mayne said after hearing that her case had been settled in federal court earlier this month before U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Kimball. "I knew I was going to win this."
Richard Van Wagoner, an attorney representing Orem's insurance company, said Mayne did not really "win" her case.
Rather, she was granted the right to display any materials she would like in the public room, on the bulletin board and in the carousel.
She always had that right, he said.
But she still is not permitted to put up posters or pictures on the front doors.
Matt Hilton, her attorney, said she won rights she was not permitted to exercise before the lawsuit.
"We were not told there was a bulletin board she could use. It was 45 days before we were told she could put out the pamphlets. It was not until we were in federal court that it was conceded that if the Kiwanis could use the community room, we could, too."
"We offered a settlement at one point that was rejected," Van Wagoner said.
"What happened is we reached a point where I think her attorney could see the court wasn't going to be able to give her what she was asking. The judge told her attorney, 'Your client's not going to get to put up her posters on the front doors, but there is a bulletin board she could use.' Her attorney said, 'That's all she wants,' and the judge said, "Then there's no real issue here.'"
Kimball did award Mayne $1 in damages because Orem was told to inform her she could put pamphlets in the building carousel and the city took 45 days to tell her so.
He also asked the attorneys involved to tally up their fees and costs and submit them to the court so he could determine who should pay the fees.
Mayne sued Orem, the city's recreation director, Jerry Ortiz, and city attorney Paul Johnson after she was told to pull her Easter decorations from the front entrance doors in April 1998.
The pictures include paintings of angels, Christ rising from the tomb and Easter lilies.
She was told by the city attorney that since the building is a public facility, the city cannot sanction religious displays.
Hilton said Kimball's ruling is somewhat disappointing because it falls short of addressing the real issues, one of which is the city's lack of formal policy.
"I would be willing to knock $1,000 off my fee to help them formulate a policy just because I've spent so much time to research this," Hilton said, "I would like to see some clear guidelines."