In a clear misreading of the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling from 2015, Obergefell v. Hodges, especially as elucidated just days ago by that Court in Pavan v. Smith, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously refused on June 30 to dismiss a lawsuit by two disgruntled Houston taxpayers who argue that the city of Houston may not provide employee benefits for the same-sex spouses of its employees. The case is Pidgeon v. Turner, 2017 Tex. … <Read More>
Texas Court of Appeals
Houston Benefits Dispute May Bring Marriage Equality Issue Back to the Supreme Court
Conservatives eager to bring the marriage equality issue back to the U.S. Supreme Court after President Donald J. Trump has had an opportunity to appoint some conservative justices may have found a vehicle to get the issue there in an employee benefits dispute from Houston. On January 20, the Texas Supreme Court announced that it had “withdrawn” its September 2, 2016, order rejecting a petition to review a ruling by the state’s intermediate court of … <Read More>
Formalistic Texas Appeals Court Refuses to Issue a Change of “Sexual Designation” for Transgender Petitioner
The Texas 14th District Court of Appeals in Houston upheld a trial judge’s denial of a transgender man’s request for a “gender designation change” embodied in a court order on August 2. In re Rocher, 2016 WL 4131626, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 8266. The court’s ruling turned on the absence of any Texas statute or regulation specifically authorizing courts to grant such requests.
According to the opinion for the three-judge panel by Justice … <Read More>
Texas Appeals Panel Denies Transgender Man Standing to Bring Paternity Action Concerning Children He Was Parenting
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Texas in San Antonio issued a new opinion on January 27, reaffirming a prior ruling issued on August 12 of last year, that a transgender man who had been parenting children adopted by his long-time former female partner lacked standing to seek custody and visitation rights because he didn’t assert such a claim shortly after the couple broke up. At the same time, the full bench … <Read More>
The Power of Full Faith & Credit and a Jury
Putting together the power of the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause and a verdict by a jury who got to see the parties testify, a Texas gay co-parent has preserved his status as “sole managing conservator” of the child he and his former partner/spouse conceived with the help of a gestational surrogate. Herein lies a somewhat complicated tale providing new evidence of the extraordinary developments in LGBT family law over the past few … <Read More>
Transgender Woman Wins New Trial on Inheritance From Her Husband
A three-judge panel of the Texas Court of Appeals ruled on February 13 that Nikki Araguz, a transgender woman who is the surviving spouse of Texas firefighter Thomas Araguz, is entitled to a trial of the question whether her marriage with Thomas was valid. Thomas died without a will, and his mother and ex-wife (suing on behalf of his children) contend that the marriage was not valid and thus cannot provide the basis for an … <Read More>