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Case Update: Victory for Jennifer Tobits!
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November 19, 2012
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Dear ,
I’ve told you before about our courageous client Jennifer Tobits and her late wife, Sarah Ellyn Farley. Jennifer and Ellyn married in Toronto in 2006. Two weeks after their wedding, Ellyn was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of cancer. The Chicago couple fought the disease together for their entire marriage, until Ellyn passed away four years later, in September 2010. Ellyn’s parents had never accepted her marriage to Jennifer, and the couple feared that Ellyn’s parents would make legal claims to their property and attack Jennifer’s status as Ellyn’s spouse.
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Shortly after Ellyn’s death, sadly, those fears came true.
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Her parents filed a court action in Illinois probate court to take over the administration of her estate, telling the court that their daughter had "never married" and that they, and not Jennifer, were her lawful heirs. They also told Ellyn’s employer, a law firm, that they should receive their daughter’s death benefits under the firm’s profit-sharing plan, claiming that Ellyn had signed a form naming them as her beneficiaries.
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Today, I have wonderful news to report: The estate has now closed, and Jennifer was recognized as Ellyn’s sole heir and legal representative. The probate court ruled that Jennifer was entitled to be treated the same as any other spouse under Illinois law, and that Ellyn’s parents had no right to interfere with her status as spouse.
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The support of donors like you is what made this important victory possible. Will you make a gift today in celebration of Jennifer’s victory?
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While this is a huge victory, unfortunately Jennifer’s battle to have her marriage recognized continues. After Ellyn’s parents told her employer, Cozen O’Connor, that they should receive their daughter’s death benefits, Cozen filed an action in federal court in Pennsylvania, claiming that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents the firm from paying the benefits to Jennifer. In March, NCLR legal director Shannon Minter and co-counsel Teresa Renaker told the Pennsylvania court why Jennifer is entitled to Ellyn’s benefits. Shannon and Teresa explained that Jennifer meets the definition of “spouse” in the firm’s benefits plan, that DOMA does not prevent private employers from respecting the marriages of same-sex couples, and that even if DOMA did apply, it would be unconstitutional to deny plan benefits to Jennifer.
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The Pennsylvania court recently put that case temporarily on hold because the U.S. Supreme Court is now considering several cases that could result in DOMA being struck down as unconstitutional. But no matter what the Supreme Court does, we will continue to fight to the end for Jennifer’s marriage and her rights as Ellyn’s surviving spouse.
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Your support will help us continue this fight! Donate now to help us win again on behalf of Jennifer Tobits.
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Huge thanks go out to our co-counsel Dan Ebner and Ray Prather, of Prather Ebner LLP, and Elizabeth Deeley, Sarah Piepmeier, and Dmitriy Tishyevich, of Kirlkand & Ellis LLP, who represented Jennifer in the successful probate proceeding, as well as to Benjamin L. Jerner and Tiffany Palmer of Jerner & Palmer, P.C., and Teresa Renaker and Nina Wasow of Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker and Jackson, P.C., who are representing Jennifer in the Pennsylvania lawsuit.
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In solidarity,
Kate Kendell, Esq.
Executive Director
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Donate today to help us continue to fight for Jennifer’s rights as Ellyn’s surviving spouse.
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The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
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