Trachtman Quoted in New York Law Journal Article on Legal Battle for Same-Sex Marriage Recognition in New York

Litigation partner Jeffrey S. Trachtman was quoted in a New York Law Journal article about the Alliance Defense Fund ("ADF"), a conservative Christian group that is seeking to block recognition of the out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples in New York. In particular, the ADF plans to appeal the decision in Lewis v. New York State Department of Civil Services, its latest defeat in a string of New York State court cases requiring respect for such marriages. Lewis, in which Kramer Levin served as co-counsel to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, upheld a New York State Department of Civil Service policy requiring that the valid marriages of same-sex couples be respected for purposes of providing State-sponsored spousal health insurance benefits. The ADF also plans appeal similar rulings in Golden v. Paterson and Godfrey v. Spano, cases challenging the recognition of valid marriages by the Governor and Westchester County Executive. Trachtman was quoted as saying that while he respects the ADF attorneys' right to bring these suits, he believes they are "beating a dead horse" in view of the consistent rulings applying settled New York law requiring respect for valid out-of-state marriages. He also said that New York's status as one of the few states that neither affirmatively permits same-sex couples to marry nor explicitly bars recognition of such marriages makes litigation on the recognition issue a serious point of interest for groups on both sides of the issue.