From Parker v. Society for Creative Anachronism, decided yesterday by Judge Robert Bryan (W.D. Wash.):
The SCA is a nonprofit private club "devoted to the research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat, and culture." The SCA is governed by a board of directors. It is divided into twenty regions called "kingdoms, which, in turn are divided into subchapters." The SCA's medieval structure creates leadership positions in the individual kingdoms called "monarchs," collectively referred to as "the Crown."
The SCA has a handbook containing the "Corpora," by-laws, corporate policies, and articles of incorporation. Pursuant to the SCA's Sanctions Procedures and Policies Manual, "the Crown" may impose temporary sanctions against members for "violations of any provision of the Corpora, SCA Corporate Documents, and/or Kingdom Law." {According to the SCA's By-Laws, the "corpora" are the documents "defining the structure of the medieval organization used by the SCA in its recreations and including minimum requirements and guidelines for that organization."} Sanctions include exile from that kingdom.
If a member is sanctioned by the Crown, the member must be given notice; the board is also sent notice of the sanction. The board may "[u]phold or overturn the sanction" and/or "[e]xtend the sanction and request [an officer] investigate the matter for a determination of the need for additional action up to and including Revocation of Membership and Denial of Participation." The board serves as the final "court of appeals" for disputes. Permanent membership revocation and participation bans may be made by the board for violation of the by-laws or Corpora of the SCA or on a "formal recommendation arising out of procedures for the purpose defined in Corpora for medieval structure of the SCA." …
The Plaintiffs were members of the "Kingdom of An Tir, Barony of Blabtha an Oir" from 2006 to 2021. Plaintiff Lori Parker served in a leadership position for the Kingdom of An Tir's Youth and Family Achievement group. This was an unpaid volunteer position. Id. She contends that she was harassed while in that position and was removed from that position on October 22, 2017. Mrs. Parker moved to a leadership position at the "society" level but testified that she is not basing any harassment claims on events that occurred while she was in that position. When asked to point to other examples of harassing events, Mrs. Parker points to Mr. Parker allegedly being called a "Nazi" and Mrs. Parker being called "abusive" by another SCA member before "the polling for Baron and Baroness" in 2019. Mrs. Parker contends that she and Mr. Parker were being attacked online by several SCA members and that they were subjected to "passive aggressive" behavior by some members.
