A Grand Chamber (17 judges) of the European Court of Human Rights (based in Strasbourg) ruled on February 19 that Austria violated the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by maintaining a statutory scheme under which “second-parent” adoptions are available for unmarried different-sex couples but not for same-sex couples (who do not have the right to marry in Austria). By a vote of 10-7, the court found that the applicants … <Read More>
Legal Issues
New York Court Rules Alleged Gay Former Partner Can Maintain Action for Contract Breach and Constructive Trust
Justice Saliann Scarpulla of New York Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled on January 15 that Craig Massey, who alleges that he was the “life partner” of Christopher Byrne from 1997 through 2007, can proceed on his claim for compensation based on an alleged agreement to shared assets. However, Justice Scarpulla found that Massey’s complaint did not support a claim for partition of the condominium apartment purchased by Byrne in which they lived together prior to … <Read More>
Appellate Division Unanimously Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Claim in HIV/AIDS Controversy
New York Appellate Division, First Department, has affirmed dismissal of Celia Farber’s lawsuit contending that she was defamed by an email that Richard Jefferys sent to Walter Fauntroy in 2008. Fauntroy was coordinating testimony for “Whistleblower Week,” an event organized by the Semmelweis Society International, during which a “Clean Hands Award” was to be presented to Farber and Dr. Peter Duesberg “for their stance as HIV dissenters, which put them at odds with the medical … <Read More>
8th Circuit: Homeowner’s Liability Policy Doesn’t Cover Sexual Transmission of HIV
Affirming a ruling by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, of the Western District of Missouri, a panel of the 8th Circuit found that American Family Mutual Insurance Company was not required to defend its insured, Brent Lambi, against a claim by Brian Potter that Lambda had infected Potter with HIV while they were having sex. Lambi v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co., 2013 WL 490778 (Feb. 11, 2013) (not published in F.3d).
When American … <Read More>
The New Military Benefits Policy Announcement
Today (February 11) the Defense Department announced a new list of benefits that will be made available to same-sex domestic partners of Servicemembers. This will be on top of the accumulating list of benefits that have been made available since the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy was ended, together with the prohibition on service menbers entering into same-sex marriages. (The memo from the office of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is available on the DoD website … <Read More>
Pregnant Lesbian Will Get Jury Trial Against Catholic School
Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur Spiegel (Southern District of Ohio) ruled on January 30 that Christa Dias, who was fired as a computer technology coordinator from two schools of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati after she told her principal at one of the schools that she was pregnant, is entitled to a jury trial of her pregnancy discrimination complaint under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but not of her breach … <Read More>
4th Circuit Revives Transgender Inmates Suit for Sex Reassignment Surgery
A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, ruled on January 28 that District Judge James C. Turk (Western District of Virginia) should not have dismissed an 8th Amendment complaint by Ophelia Azriel De’lonta, a Virginia state inmate who has been denied gender reassignment surgery by the Virginia Department of Corrections. The ruling may be the first by a federal appellate court to hold that an … <Read More>
Will the Supreme Court Actually Decide the DOMA Case?
When the Supreme Court granted the Solicitor General’s petition for certiorari on December 7, 2012, in United States v. Edith Windsor, posing the question whether Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violates the equal protection rights of married same-sex couples by denying them federal recognition, the Court added two questions: Whether the government’s “agreement with the court below that DOMA is unconstitutional deprives [the Supreme Court] of jurisdiction to decide this case, and … <Read More>
Merits Briefs in Supreme Court Marriage Cases Make Heavy Federalism Pitch
On January 22, attorneys defending against constitutional challenges to California Proposition 8 and Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act filed their briefs on the merits with the United States Supreme Court. Links to the briefs can be found on the Supreme Court’s website: click on the Docket box on the left side of the site and there is a link to the special page set up for these cases (Hollingsworth v. Perry; … <Read More>
New York Housing Court Rules for Surviving Same-Sex Partner in Contested Tenant-Succession Case
New York City Housing Court Judge Sabrina B. Kraus issued a ruling January 9 in Infinity Corp. v. Danko, Index No.: L&T 66511/2010 (N.Y.C.Civ.Ct., Housing Part, N.Y. Co.), a holdover proceeding in which the landlord sought to evict a surviving same-sex partner of a rent-stabilized tenant. The case is notable because the landlord had subpoenaed the proprietor of Rentboy.com, a website advertising gay massage and escort services, about an advertisement for massage services placed … <Read More>