On July 2, 2015, plaintiffs -- two same sex couples -- filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU of Kentucky, asked the court for both injunctive and declaratory relief, alleging that Davis's refusal to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses and the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The plaintiffs also sought class action certification for all persons similarly situated. The case was assigned to United States District Judge David Bunning.

This case is a direct result of the Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that same sex couples had a fundamental right to marry. Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015). Immediately after Obergefell, the Governor of Kentucky had explicitly instructed all county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. So once this case was filed, Davis filed a third party complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Governor and State Librarian of Kentucky alleging that the Governor's mandate to issue marriage licenses violated her right to religious conscience under the First Amendment.

Arguments in the District Court centered on whether Ms. Davis, as an elected official, had a right to deny same sex marriage licenses as a matter of religious liberty. Judge Bunning found that the instruction by the Governor to issue same-sex marriage licenses was facially neutral as to its implication on any particular religion. The Court therefore found (applying a rational basis test) that the Governor's goal was simply to ensure that the activities of the State of Kentucky were consistent with the jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ms. Davis, therefore, had no relevant protected religious liberty interest.

As a result of this reasoning, on August 12, 2015, Judge Bunning issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the defendant from continuing to refuse marriage licenses to same sex couples. 123 F. Supp. 3d 924 (E.D. Ky. 2015). Davis immediately appealed to the Sixth Circuit (docketed no. 15-5880), and filed a motion to stay the injunction pending appeal. The district court denied the motion to stay, but then temporarily stayed the order to give the appellate court an opportunity to review the denial of the stay. On August 26, 2015, the Sixth Circuit denied the motion for a stay. 2015 WL 10692640. Davis further appealed to the United Supreme Court, which also denied her application for stay. 136 S.Ct. 23.

Nonetheless, Davis continued to refuse marriage licenses to same sex couples. After a hearing on September 3, 2015, she was held in contempt of court, and jailed for civil contempt until September 8, 2015, at which time she was released from jail provided that she not interfere with the ongoing issuance of marriage licenses by Rowan County's deputy clerks.

Davis appealed. She also sought an injunction against the Kentucky government prohibiting state authorities from directing her to authorize the issuance of marriage licenses while her appeal was pending at the Sixth Circuit. On September 11, 2015, the district court (Judge David L. Bunning) denied Davis's request. 2015 WL 9461520 (E.D. Ky. Sept. 11, 2015). Davis also asked the Sixth Circuit to stay the plaintiffs' injunction against her pending her appeal. On September 17, 2015, the Sixth Circuit denied her request. Finally, Davis asked for an emergency stay of the injunction against her. The district court denied this request. 2015 WL 9460311 (E.D. Ky. Sept. 23, 2015). Davis then appealed the denial of the stay of the September 3 order (docket no. 15-5978), but the Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial on November 5, 2015. 2015 WL 10692638 (6th Cir.).

The Sixth Circuit scheduled oral argument on Davis's remaining appeals for July 28, 2016.

After she was released from jail, Davis had returned to work and she changed the forms that they used to issue marriage licenses. Worried that these forms would not be considered valid, the plaintiffs filed a motion to enforce the injunction against Davis and require her to use the old forms. However, on February 9, 2016, the district court denied the plaintiffs' request as moot because the forms were valid and same-sex marriage licenses were being issued by the office.

On April 19, 2016, the Sixth Circuit issued an order dismissing the state defendants from the case for lack of jurisdiction.

On July 13, 2016, the Sixth Circuit dismissed the multiple pending appeals pursuant to Senate Bill 216, which would allow the removal of the name of the county clerk from marriage license forms. 667 Fed.Appx. 537. SB 216 was to take effect prior to oral arguments in the Sixth Circuit, rendering the appeals moot. In response, the district court vacated the preliminary injunctions and denied all pending motions as moot on August 18, 2016.

On July 21, 2017, the district court awarded the plaintiffs $224,703.08 in attorneys' fees and costs. 267 F.Supp.3d 961. It required Kentucky, rather than the Clerk’s Office or Rowan County, to pay the award. Davis appealed the award in the Sixth Circuit on November 22, 2017 (docket no. 17-6404). The Kentucky defendants also appealed the fee award (docket no. 17-6385). Throughout 2018, the parties briefed the appeal. Oral argument was held on January 31, 2019. Judges Richard Griffin, Helene White, and John Bush affirmed the district court’s award of attorney’s fees on August 23, 2019. 936 F.3d 442. In addition, the Sixth Circuit affirmed that the liability should be imposed on Kentucky because Davis acted on Kentucky’s behalf when issuing and refusing to issue marriage licenses.

The plaintiffs then had until November 4, 2019 to submit a request for attorneys' fees for all work performed subsequent to the July 21, 2017 order. On November 4, 2019 the plaintiffs submitted a request for an extension to submit the request. As of January 2020, this case was ongoing.

Sarah Prout - 09/17/2015
Jessica Kincaid - 04/02/2016
Virginia Weeks - 02/18/2018
Maddie McFee - 11/26/2019


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