A former Kentucky state official who refused to grant marriage licenses to a gay couple must pay the couple an additional $260,104, a federal judge ruled last week.
David Armold and David Moore accused former Rowan County employee Kim Davis of refusing to issue a marriage license in 2015, citing “God's definition of marriage” and Christian beliefs. The lawsuit was filed for violating religious beliefs.
The additional fees Davis must pay are on top of $100,000 in damages ordered to Armold and Moore in September after the couple lost a lawsuit they filed.
Davis' lawyers argued that the legal fees proposed by the couple's lawyers were too high and that the fees should be reduced by more than 50%. U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning sided with the couple and awarded them $246,026.40 in attorney fees and $14,058.30 in costs. in court documents It was published last week.
Banning said the attorney fees requested by the couple were “reasonable” in the order.
“Plaintiffs not only won their case, they got the result they sought. They sought to justify their fundamental right to marry and obtain a marriage license. And they did so,” Banning said in the order. I mentioned it in the book.
Liberty Counsel, the law firm representing Davis, said: in a press release They planned to file a motion this month to “set aside the jury verdict'' from September that awarded the couple $50,000 each. The law firm said Bunning's order allows it to file a motion to set aside the jury's verdict “because there was insufficient evidence to award monetary damages to the plaintiffs.”
“This case is not over yet. Thanks to Kim Davis, every clerk in Kentucky now has the freedom to serve as an elected official without compromising their religious beliefs and conscience.” Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a statement.
“This case extends similar religious freedom protections beyond Kentucky and has the potential to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.”, This is a wrong decision and should be overturned.”
The Supreme Court's landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges gave same-sex couples the right to marry.
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