(San Francisco, CA, September 23, 2011)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a brief in federal district court in Pennsylvania yesterday arguing that private employers cannot hide behind the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to justify discriminating against same-sex spouses in private benefits plans. NCLR is representing Jennifer Tobits, the widow of Sarah “Ellyn” Farley, whose parents have challenged the couple’s marriage and now seek death benefits provided by...
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Widow’s In-laws Seeking Control of Estate and Death Benefits (San Francisco, August 3, 2011)—The National Center for Lesbian Rights is representing Jennifer Tobits, the widow of Sarah Ellyn Farley, whose parents are challenging the couple’s marriage and seeking control of Farley’s estate and death benefits provided by her employer. This week, Tobits filed court documents seeking to be named the executor of her wife’s estate and defending her status as a surviving spouse. Tobits’s in-laws had...
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, July 3, 2011)—On July 1, 2011, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief supporting federal court employee Karen Golinski’s lawsuit in which she seeks access to equal health benefits for her wife. In the brief on behalf of the Office of Personnel Management and other government defendants, the DOJ unequivocally argues in Golinski’s favor that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional....
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, April 25, 2011)—Today, King & Spalding LLP, the law firm hired earlier this month by the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, announced it is withdrawing its representation because the vetting process was “inadequate.” The move prompted the lead King & Spalding lawyer in the case, Paul Clement, to resign from his position at King & Spalding. Statement by NCLR...