On October 17, two different panels of the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in cases where lesbian co-parents were battling over child custody. In one, a birth mother prevailed because the court refused to recognize the couple’s Canadian same-sex marriage. In the other, however, the court found that the state’s full-faith-and-credit obligation required recognition of an out-of-state second-parent adoption that could not have been done in-state, and affirmed a sole custody award to the second … <Read More>
Michigan Court of Appeals
Michigan Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to “Absurd” Benefits Policy
Despite finding that an employee benefits policy adopted by the Civil Service Commission drew “absurd” distinctions based on marital status and biological relationships, a 2-1 panel of the Court of Appeals of Michigan ruled on January 8 that the policy, extending health insurance benefits eligibility to non-marital cohabitants of state employees, did not violate equal protection or the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment. Attorney General v. Civil Service Commission, 2013 Westlaw 85805 (Mich. App., Jan. 8, … <Read More>