IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA MARCIE FISHER-BORNE, for ) herself and as guardian ad ) litem for M.F.-B., a minor, ) et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) 1:12CV589 ) JOHN W. SMITH, in his official ) capacity as the Director of the ) North Carolina Administrative ) Office of the Courts, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ) ) ELLEN W. GERBER, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) 1:14CV299 ) ROY COOPER, et al., ) ) Defendants. )
AMENDED ORDER
1
Plaintiffs in each of these cases have filed complaints alleging causes of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983
challenging the constitutionality of North Carolina’s laws
1
This Order is amended to reflect the correct North Carolina General Statute Section 51-1.2.
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- 2 - preventing same-sex couples from marrying and prohibiting recognition of same-
sex couples’ lawful
out-of-state marriages. (1:12CV589 (Doc. 40); 1:14CV299 (Doc. 1).) As to each of these cases, an order was entered dismissing the North Carolina Attorney General as a defendant and allowing the State of North Carolina to intervene and appear by and through the Attorney General as counsel of record. (1:12CV589 (Doc. 114); 1:14CV299 (Doc. 71).) An Answer has been filed by Defendants in both cases and on behalf of the State of North Carolina (1:12CV589 (Doc. 115); 1:14CV299 (Doc. 70)); those Answers, inter alia, concede that Plaintiffs are entitled to certain relief.
2
Following the filing of those Answers, Plaintiffs in both cases filed Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings (1:12CV589 (Doc. 116); 1:14CV299 (Doc. 72)), and all parties consented (1:12CV589 (Docs. 116 and 117); 1:14CV299 (Docs. 72 and 73)). In addition to the pleadings described above, Thom Tillis, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, and Phil Berger, President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate, filed motions to intervene (1:12CV589 (Doc. 119); 1:14CV299 (Doc. 75)) and those motions have been granted on the conditions
2
The parties are in agreement with respect to the dismissal of certain parties and claims (see 1:12CV589 (Docs. 112, 113, 121; 1:14CV299 (Docs. 67, 68, 77)) and this order addresses without analysis the dismissal of individuals and claims as agreed-upon by the parties.
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- 3 - set forth in that order. (1:12CV589 (Doc. 134); 1:14CV299 (Doc. 90).) The pleadings indicate that Plaintiffs in each of these cases has standing to bring these claims. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question) and § 1343(a)(3)(deprivation under State law of any right secured by the Constitution). Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(6), all allegations not denied are deemed admitted. In light of briefs and representations of the parties (1:12CV589 (Docs. 103, 104, 105, 106, 112, 113); 1:14CV299 (Docs. 56, 57, 58, 59, 67, 68)), those matters admitted by the State of North Carolina in its Answers, and the holding of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Bostic v. Schaefer, 760 F.3d 352 (4th Cir. 2014), this court finds that the relief requested by Plaintiffs in each of these cases should be granted with respect to those matters now ripe for ruling. Bostic addressed Virginia law and a Virginia constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriages and making same sex marriages invalid. Id. Most importantly here, the Virginia constitutional amendment addressed in Bostic
stated “
[t]hat only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political
subdivisions.”
Id. at 368 (quoting Va. Const. art. I, § 15-A).
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