Amanda Longacre, who was dethroned as Miss Delaware for not matching the age criteria has filed a 3 Million Dollar law suit against Miss America Organization & Local Franchise holders , The lawsuit filed by Miss Longacre seeks $3 million in damages – $2.5 million for the class of contestants certified to compete then disqualified, and $500,000 for her, While submitting her application form she had provided her driving license & Birth Certificate & still the organization allowed her to compete in the pageant. Miss Longrace is seeking a waiver so she can compete for Miss America 2015 in September . Amanda took a year off from her studies to complete her duties as the reigning Miss Delaware. Miss Delaware Organization has allowed Miss Longrace to keep her $9000 Scholarship.
Statement issued by Miss Longrace .
‘I’ve gotten a lot of support and I’m so appreciative of it. I feel so much love from my state, and even from outside of my state people have been supporting me.‘I’ve been nothing but honest since the beginning and they don’t think it’s right either.’ She added: ‘This is about the title of Miss Delaware that I rightfully won. I want to represent the people of Delaware. I want to be a social worker. This was a great start to a fabulous career for me and it’s still going to be a fabulous career for me.’She said that although the age rule is in her contract, she assumed she was eligible because the Miss Delaware organization signed off.’I didn’t know the rule, I also competed at the local level and it’s been several months. You put your trust in an organization to know their own rules. So when you come forward and you’re honest and you put the time and money in, this is not fair.’
Statement issued by The Miss Delaware Scholarship Organization:
‘Following the Miss Delaware Pageant, it was determined that Amanda Longacre exceeded the age requirement in order to be eligible to compete therefore, the Miss Delaware 2014 title is awarded to Brittany Lewis.’The Miss Delaware Pageant is proud to congratulate Brittany and wishes Amanda the very best on her future endeavors.’
What Does the Rule of Miss America Organization says:
Contestants must be 17 to 24 years old, The Miss America pageant rules also state that contestants must not only be no older than 24 but they also cannot turn 25 before the end of the year.
Some important points from Amanda Longacre’s law suit:-
#1 Longacre is seeking $3 million in damages, with $500,000 going to Longacre and the remaining $2.5 million would go to other contestants who were certified to compete but then were disqualified for one reason or another.
#2 Amanda wants her title as Miss Delaware back & she wants to compete in Miss America 2015.
#3 The Lawsuit details more than 20 appearances Longacre made, cites her additional fundraising for the organization and the facts that she suspended work on her master’s degree in social work at University of Pennsylvania for a year, cut her work to part-time and ended internship programs as required by the Miss Delaware organization to fulfill her duties.
#4 The lawsuit also said Miss Longrace lost potential career opportunities such as television and guest appearances.
#5 she had to spend more than $4,500 on expenses such as a voice coach, clothing, hair and makeup.
#6 The Law Suit filled by Miss Longrace also request the court to require pageant organization to but age related & other terms & conditions clearly on their website.
First Runner Up Brittany Lewis has been crowned the New Miss Delaware & she will represent Delaware at Miss America 2015.