Inniss v. Aderhold
| Decision Date | 08 January 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:14–CV–01180–WSD.,1:14–CV–01180–WSD. |
| Parties | Christopher INNISS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Deborah ADERHOLD, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
David P. Draigh, White & Case, LLP–FL, Douglas E. Winter, Bryan Cave, LLP–DC, Elizabeth Lynn Littrell, Lambda Legal, Tara L. Borelli, Gregory R. Nevins, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.-GA, Jennifer Burch Dempsey, Jennifer Devine Odom, Luke A. Lantta, William Vance Custer, IV, Bryan Cave, LLP–ATL, Susan L. Sommer, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.-NY, for Plaintiffs.
Britt Cagle Grant, Office of the Attorney General–GA, Devon Orland, Office of State Attorney General, Nels Stefan David Peterson, Georgia Department of Law, Office of the Attorney General, for Defendants, Aderhold and Davidson.
Frank E. Jenkins, III, Robert Lige Walker, Jenkins & Bowen, P.C., Michael Van Stephens, II, Gwinnett County Law Department, Diana L. Freeman, Kaye Woodard Burwell, R. David Ware, Office of Fulton County Attorney, for Defendants, Toomer and Fenton, who did not join in the motion addressed in this Order.
This matter is before the Court on Defendants Deborah Aderhold's (“Aderhold”), in her official capacity as the State Registrar and Director of Vital Records for the Georgia Department of Public Health, and Monica P. Fenton's (“Fenton”), in her official capacity as Director of System Benefits for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (collectively, “Defendants”), Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' First Amended Class Action Complaint (“Amended Complaint”) for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief [29, 42].1 Defendants move to dismiss, under Rule 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, based on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Plaintiffs Christopher Inniss (“Inniss”) and Shelton Stroman (“Stroman”) are a same-sex male couple that resides in Snellville, Georgia. They have been together for thirteen years. In 2004, Inniss proposed to Stroman, and the couple decided to live together and adopted J.S.I., a boy who is a nine-year old fourth grader today. Inniss and Stroman seek to obtain a marriage license in Georgia, so that they can be recognized as a committed couple, and to fulfill J.S.I.'s desire that Inniss and Stroman be married like many of his friends' parents.
Plaintiffs RayShawn Chandler (“RayShawn”) and Avery Chandler (“Avery”) are a same-sex female couple that resides in Jonesboro, Georgia. Avery works as a Police Officer for the Atlanta Police Department (“APD”). She is also a Sergeant in the United States Army Reserve, and, in 2014, deployed for service in Kuwait.
RayShawn is a former Police Officer for the APD, and works as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, Inc. On June 26, 2013, the Chandlers were married in West Hartford, Connecticut.2 RayShawn and Avery challenge Georgia's prohibition on the recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages. RayShawn intends to become pregnant through artificial insemination. The couple alleges that should RayShawn have one or more children, Avery cannot, under Georgia's marriage laws, be listed as a parent on the birth certificate of any children born to RayShawn. The couple also alleges that RayShawn would not qualify for survivor benefits if Avery were killed in the line of duty because RayShawn is not recognized as Avery's spouse under Georgia's marriage laws.
Plaintiffs Michael Bishop (“Bishop”) and Johnny Shane Thomas (“Thomas”) are a same-sex male couple that resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Thomas is a realtor, and Bishop is General Counsel for AT & T Intellectual Property Corporation. They have been together for seven years. At some point in their relationship, they adopted T.A.B., a five-year old boy, and M.G.B., a four-year old girl. Bishop and Thomas seek to get married to express their devotion to each other, and to obtain the dignity and legitimacy of their relationship for their children.
Plaintiffs Elizabeth Wurz (“Beth”) and Krista Wurz (“Krista”) are a same-sex female couple that resides in Brunswick, Georgia. Beth is an Associate Professor of English at the College of Coastal Georgia, and Krista is a special education teacher at the Coastal Academy of Georgia. On October 12, 2010, Beth and Krista were married in New Hampshire.3 Beth and Krista are raising seven children, including five foster children who are classified by the State of Georgia as Special Needs children.
Beth and Krista claim that they cannot jointly adopt their children because Georgia does not recognize their marriage. In 2011, Beth adopted three foster children in the couple's care and, in July 2014, Krista adopted the other two foster children. Beth and Krista allege that Georgia's refusal to recognize their marriage has harmed their children. Krista and her stepson are not covered by Beth's employer-based health insurance plan sponsored by the College of Coastal Georgia because Georgia does not recognize Krista as an eligible spouse. Today, Krista and her stepson are covered by her employer-based health insurance plan sponsored by the Coastal Academy of Georgia, but the couple contends that the insurance coverage sponsored by Krista's employer is expensive and inferior to Beth's insurance plan.
On February 13, 2013, Plaintiff Jennifer Sisson (“Sisson”) was married to Pamela Drenner (“Drenner”) in New York, New York.4 In 2008, Drenner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer
. Sisson took a leave of absence from her employment with Delta Air Lines, Inc. to become Drenner's full-time caretaker. On March 1, 2014, Drenner contracted a serious infection from which she died. On March 2, 2014, Sisson went to a funeral home to make arrangements for Drenner's burial. The funeral home informed her that Drenner could, on her death certificate, be identified only as “never married,” “widowed,” or “divorced.” Georgia law does not allow Sisson to be listed as Drenner's spouse on the death certificate. The space on the death certificate for Drenner's “spouse” is left blank. Sisson seeks to obtain a death certificate that recognizes her marriage to Drenner.
Defendant Aderhold is the State Registrar and Director of Vital Records for the Georgia Department of Public Health. Aderhold is responsible for the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, and certification of birth, marriage, and death certificates issued by the State. She has the authority to prescribe, furnish and distribute vital records forms, including those impacted by the State's prohibition on same-sex marriages.
Defendant Fenton is the Director of System Benefits for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (“Board of Regents”). The Board of Regents selects and implements employer-sponsored health insurance plans for educational institutions in the University System of Georgia, including the College of Coastal Georgia. The Board of Regents restricts insurance coverage to a beneficiary's “legal spouse,” as that term is defined under Georgia law. Fenton is responsible for ensuring that the College of Coastal Georgia's health insurance plan complies with State law.
Defendant Brook Davidson (“Davidson”) is the Clerk of the Gwinnett County Probate Court. Defendant Probate Judge Pinkie Toomer (“Judge Toomer”) is a Probate Court Judge in Fulton County, Georgia. Davidson and Judge Toomer are responsible for issuing marriage licenses in Gwinnett County, Georgia and Fulton County, Georgia, respectively. Georgia law requires them to comply with O.C.G.A. § 19–3–30(b)(1), which provides that “[n]o marriage license shall be issued to persons of the same sex.” See O.C.G.A. § 19–3–30(b)(1). On April 10, 2014, Bishop and Thomas appeared in the Fulton County Probate Court and applied for a marriage license. On April 13, 2014, the Fulton County Probate Court issued an Order denying their application because they are of the same sex. On April 17, 2014, Inniss and Stroman appeared in the Gwinnett County Probate Court and applied for a marriage license. They were denied a marriage license because they are of the same sex.
In 1996, the state legislature in Georgia enacted O.C.G.A. § 19–3–3.1 to prohibit same-sex marriages in Georgia, and to prevent the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other States or foreign countries. The statute provides:
O.C.G.A. § 19–3–3.1.
In November 2004, Georgia voters ratified a proposed amendment to the State Constitution (“The Amendment”), codified as Georgia Constitution Art. I, § IV, Para. I. The Amendment, approved by 76% of voters, prohibits same-sex marriages in Georgia, and refuses to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other States. The Amendment provides:
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