Florida Ordered to Correct Death Certificates to List Surviving Same-Sex Spouses Without Requiring Individual Court Orders

U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, who rendered a decision prior to Obergefell v. Hodges finding that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional, had the opportunity to apply his ruling further in Birchfield v. Armstrong, Case No. 4:15-cv-00615 (N.D. Fla.), issued on March 23, 2017.  The case was brought by Lambda Legal as a class action on behalf of all survivors of same-sex spouses who died in Florida prior to the Obergefell decision, … <Read More>


Ohio Marriage Challenge Continues Despite Death of Plaintiff

A federal judge in Cincinnati has ruled that a lawsuit seeking to compel the state of Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages of its residents that were performed in other jurisdictions will live on, despite the death of a plaintiff that might otherwise moot the case, and that a gay Cincinnati funeral director may carry on the challenge as a “third-party plaintiff” representing the interests of his future clients.  The judge also suggested that his ruling … <Read More>