In January 2014, one partner in a same-sex marriage filed a divorce petition in a Florida trial court. The couple reached an agreement through a collaborative divorce process, and then on March 27, 2014, filed an amended petition, with their settlement agreement attached. Both spouses were represented by private counsel; they requested that the court recognize their Massachusetts marriage, so they could file for divorce in Florida. They challenged Florida's same-sex marriage ban arguing that the ban violated constitutional guaranties including full faith and credit, access to courts, equal protection, and the right to travel. The Women's Law Group later joined one of the legal teams.

On May 9, 2014, the court (Judge Laura Moore Lee) dismissed the amended petition because same-sex marriages were not recognized in the state. The next day, the parties appealed, both requesting an immediate decision.

On August 27, 2014, the appellate court voted to send the case directly to the Florida Supreme Court for a state-wide ruling on same-sex marriage ban. Shaw v. Shaw, 2014 WL 4212771 (D.Ct.A.Fl.2nd.2015). However, on September 5, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear the case; it held that the matter was not one of great public importance and remanded it to the Court of Appeals. Shaw v. Shaw, 2014 WL 4403366 (Fla. S.Ct. 2014)

In the meantime, another same-sex marriage case, Brenner v. Scott (PB-FL-0015 in this Clearinghouse) was being litigated in the federal courts. That case resulted in a federal court order legalizing same-sex marriage on January 6, 2015. Accordingly, in this case, on June 30, 2015, the Court entered the parties' judgment for divorce.

Katherine Reineck - 03/29/2015
Beth Richardson - 07/24/2015


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