The Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans has granted Lambda Legal’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that that the city of New Orleans was within its authority when it granted health benefits to domestic partners of city employees and established a domestic partner registry for city residents.

The city of New Orleans extended health insurance benefits to same-sex partners of city employees in 1997, and in 1999, the city council created a domestic partner registry that allows couples to make a public declaration to care for and support each other. Those policies came under attack in 2002 from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), on behalf of a group of city taxpayers claiming a right to challenge the laws. At the city’s request, Lambda Legal joined the lawsuit, representing city employee Peter Sabi and his partner, Philip Centanni, Jr. Sabi and Centanni later left Louisiana, and city employee Brian Barbieri and his partner Howard Lees joined the lawsuit.

Chief District Court Judge Nadine Ramsey ruled on Jan. 15 that the State Constitution does indeed grant the city of New Orleans the authority to offer benefits to the domestic partners of city employees and maintain a registry of domestic partners. She also ruled that extending health care benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of city employees does not violate state laws restricting marriage to one man and one woman. “The extension of health care benefits does not afford a legal status ‘identical or substantially similar to that of marriage,’ nor does it in any way trample on any purported public policy favoring marriage over unmarried cohabitation,” Ramsey wrote in her judgment. “The City’s decision to extend health care benefits to the domestic partners of city employees simply provides health insurance to a greater number of persons, without regard to marital status.”

Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney F. Brian Chase is counsel in Ralph v. City of New Orleans. Michael Vincenzo of King, LeBlanc and Bland is co-counsel.

[Source: Lambda Legal]