On April 30, 2014, six same-sex couples filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Ohio U.S. District Court against the State of Ohio. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, sought a declaration that Ohio laws banning same-sex marriage were in violation of the Constitution, an injunction against enforcing the ban, and an award of compensation for attorney's fees and costs.

Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that their rights to due process and equal protection had been abridged. The plaintiffs also alleged that they suffered harm by being denied tax and employment benefits that are available to different-sex couples, along with the social stigma of not being allowed to marry.

On April 30, 2014, the plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs then filed a motion for a permanent injunction and declaratory relief on June 28, 2014. However, once the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all states, 135 S.Ct. 2584 (2015), (PB-OH-0003 in this Clearinghouse), District Judge Michael R. Barrett entered a final judgment and declaratory judgment that the Ohio laws at issue violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on May 27, 2016. The Court permanently enjoined the defendants from enforcing the state laws. The case is now closed.

Megan Dolan - 06/19/2014
Eva Richardson - 01/07/2019


compress summary