The Barnes filings, part one

Yesterday a group hoping to keep the Barnes in Montgomery County filed a petition before the Orphans' Court arguing why Judge Stanley Ott should revisit the case. MAN is the first news outlet to report on the petition. The filing makes a strong argument that the case should be re-examined and that the Philly foundations who want to move the Barnes are behind their self-mandated schedule to move the Barnes, suggest a reason why, and note that Pew in particular may not have been completely honest with the public -- or the court.

Throughout the day I'll post about four of the key portions of the filing. First:

The petition points out that subsequent to the 2004 hearings before Judge Ott it was revealed that Pennsylvania allocated $107 million in state aid in 2002 for use to build a new Barnes facility in Philadelphia. (The bill was introduced in 2001.) Remarkably, that was just about the exact amount that the Philly foundations said it would take to build a new Barnes.

The petition argues that if any of the parties to the Barnes move knew of the $107 million state appropriation that it may have an issue with the court. "The question was raised whether anyone associated with the Barnes or the foundations knew about that information and if they did, if any party had that information and didn't come forward, it would have grave implications," Barnes Friends attorney Mark D. Schwartz told me today. The petition suggests that the court should specifically examine this point.

As Friends of the Barnes noted earlier this year, Pew chief Rebecca Rimel has been asked if she knew about the appropriation and failed to respond.

Related: The Philly Inky's story and AP's version. Apparently neither had the filing.