Same-sex Marriage in New York - Recognition of Out-of-state Same-sex Marriages

Recognition of Out-of-state Same-sex Marriages

Prior to the passage of same-sex marriage legislation, there was litigation in New York courts regarding the recognition of same-sex marriage licenses from other jurisdictions.

In October 2004, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi indicated that the state's retirement system would recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York State for purposes of state retirement and pension benefits. Not long thereafter, mayor Michael Bloomberg stated that he would ask that the city's five pension systems recognize domestic partnerships, civil unions, and same-sex marriages of city employees performed in other jurisdictions (such as Massachusetts, Canada, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont, Oregon, Maine, Hawaii, Colorado, Nevada, Wisconsin, Connecticut, California, the District of Columbia and Washington).

In February 2008, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department ruled that a same-sex marriage consummated in Canada should be recognized in New York. In Martinez v. County of Monroe, the court reasoned that because out-of-state opposite-sex marriages that would not have been legal in New York nonetheless are recognized unless such recognition would violate the public policy of the state, out-of-state same-sex marriages must be similarly recognized. The Appellate Division reversed a trial judge's ruling in 2006 that Monroe Community College did not have to extend health benefits to an employee's same-sex spouse. Monroe County subsequently announced its intention to move for leave to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals, New York State's highest courts. However, the Court of Appeals refused to hear the case on May 6, 2008, allowing the lower court's ruling to stand. In November 2008, Monroe County announced that it would not pursue any further appeals of the Appellate Division's decision.

On May 29, 2008, Governor David Paterson directed all New York State agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Governor Paterson's directive cited the Appellate Division decision in the Martinez case, as well as several lower court rulings. As a result of the governor's directive, New York became the first state that did not allow same-sex marriages, but whose state agencies recognized same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. In addition, same-sex couples in New York had the option to travel to states where same-sex marriage was possible to get married and have their marriages fully recognized by New York State agencies.

Governor Paterson's directive was challenged as both premature and unconstitutional in an Article 78 proceeding filed on June 3, 2008, against Governor Paterson by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of several state legislators and conservative leaders; this lawsuit failed at all levels. On September 2, 2008, Justice Lucy A. Billings, of the State Supreme Court in Bronx, New York, issued a decision that Governor Paterson acted within his powers when he required state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from outside the state. Justice Billings found that the governor's order was consistent with state laws on the recognition of marriages from other jurisdictions. The Court of Appeals agreed to hear this and another case on same-sex marriage recognition in 2009. The Court decided these cases on narrow grounds, finding that the state acted within its authority without reaching the issue of marriage recognition; however, a three-justice minority would have ruled more broadly in support of marriage recognition.

The courts have continued to rule that out-of-state same-sex marriages are valid—in particular, authorizing same-sex divorces and conferring inheritance rights.