Mar 10, 2025
On March 10, 2025, Justly Prudent filed a significant lawsuit on behalf of The Pride Center of Maryland (PCOM) against the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, challenging the city's wrongful termination of a $500,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant agreement. The complaint, filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, seeks to hold the city accountable for abruptly cutting vital violence intervention and prevention services specifically designed for Baltimore's LGBTQ+ community.
The lawsuit alleges that Baltimore City terminated the grant agreement on pretextual grounds without providing adequate opportunity for PCOM to address alleged deficiencies, despite PCOM's good faith efforts to comply with all requirements. During the grant period, PCOM provided essential violence prevention services to over 1,330 individuals from marginalized communities, particularly focusing on transwomen, women, youth, and other sexual and gender minority populations at increased risk of violence.
"This case represents a critical fight for accountability and the protection of essential services for vulnerable communities," said Jordan D. Howlette, Managing Attorney at Justly Prudent. "The Pride Center of Maryland worked diligently to deliver life-saving violence intervention programs to an underserved community, only to have funding arbitrarily terminated by the city despite substantial compliance with grant requirements."
The complaint details troubling patterns of communication breakdowns, inconsistent guidance, and shifting justifications for the termination. After cutting the program, the city demanded repayment of $32,000 in funds that were properly spent delivering services to the community.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, a declaration that the termination was improper, and an order preventing the city from demanding repayment of properly expended funds.