Gay plaintiffs seek having Piazza to hear new suit

LITTLE ROCK -- Gay plaintiffs suing to force Arkansas officials to recognize the validity of their state-issued marriage licenses want Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza to preside over the proceedings, according to a petition filed Friday by the group's lawyer.

Piazza's May ruling that Arkansas' constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex unions are illegal led to clerks in three counties issuing marriage licenses to gay couples for six days in May before the state Supreme Court stayed his ruling while justice took up the appeal. The decision has been before the high court for 11 months.

Five plaintiffs, two couples and a widower, sued in February to force the state Department of Finance and Administration and Health Department to recognize the validity of their licenses for purposes of filing joint tax returns, acquiring joint health insurance and receiving spousal Social Security benefits. Circuit Judge Alice Gray has been assigned to decide the lawsuit.

State lawyers responded to the litigation by asking Gray either dismiss the lawsuit because the courts don't have the authority to do what the plaintiffs are asking or put the matter on hold until a higher court can decide the legality of same-sex marriage.

The state maintains the licenses were illegally issued, making the resulting marriages null and void.

On Friday, plaintiffs attorney Cheryl Maples petitioned Gray to deny state lawyers' request to dismiss the lawsuit or put it on hold.

Maples asked the lawsuit be transferred to Piazza. The move is necessary because the new lawsuit and the original marriage litigation are so related, Maples wrote.

Such a move would save the court's time and eliminate the plaintiffs' need to call Piazza as a witness, the filing states.

In the pleading, Maples argues the dismissal motion by the state "totally" misrepresents Piazza's ruling in the original lawsuit.

Maples also argues against freezing the litigation until higher courts decide the gay-marriage question. None of the cases pending before the state and federal Supreme Courts will not address the issues of retroactive application of Piazza's ruling his lawsuit raises, she stated in the filing.

NW News on 04/18/2015

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