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Case Name Gill v. Office of Personnel Management PB-MA-0006
Docket / Court 1:09-cv-10309-JLT ( D. Mass. )
State/Territory Massachusetts
Case Type(s) Public Benefits / Government Services
Special Collection Same-Sex Marriage
Attorney Organization GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders)
On March 3, 2009, several citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who were or had been married to same-sex partners under Massachusetts law filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-2202, and the ... read more >
On March 3, 2009, several citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who were or had been married to same-sex partners under Massachusetts law filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-2202, and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, against several agencies of the federal government. The plaintiffs, represented by public interest and private counsel, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief and for a review of administrative action, alleging equal protection violations. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates Equal Protection by refusing to recognize lawful same-sex marriages for purposes of the laws governing benefits for federal employees and retirees, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Social Security laws, thereby denying plaintiffs protections and benefits that would be available to them were their spouses of the opposite sex.
On July 8, 2010, the Court (Judge Joseph L. Tauro) granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. Gill v. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 699 F.Supp.2d 374 (D. Mass. 2010). (The decision was issued the same day as Judge Tauro's decision striking down DOMA on federalism grounds, in Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, 698 F.Supp.2d 234 (D. Mass. 2010), PB-MA-0005, and the two cases were consolidated on appeal.) The court found that there was no rational justification for denying benefits and protections to married same-sex couples that were provided to their opposite-sex counterparts, and thus held that the federal government violated the equal protection principles of the Fifth Amendment by doing so. The next month, the court issued an injunction barring the federal government from applying DOMA against plaintiffs, but on motion by the defendants agreed to stay the injunction for the duration of the appeals process.
On February 24, 2011, the Department of Justice indicated to the Court of Appeals that it had come to the conclusion that DOMA is unconstitutional and would cease defending it. (It would later file a brief in support of the plaintiffs' case on September 22.) In response, the "Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives" intervened to defend the act.
On August 23, 2011, the plaintiffs moved for an initial en banc hearing to expedite the case, but despite a supporting brief from the Department of Justice, the Court of Appeals (Chief Judge Sandra L. Lynch) denied the motion. After hearing arguments on April 4, 2012, on May 31 a three-judge panel of the First Circuit (Chief Judge Lynch, Judge Michael Boudin, and Judge Juan R. Torruella) unanimously affirmed the District Court's judgment in an opinion by Judge Boudin. Massachusetts v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Services, No. 10-2204, 2012 WL 1948017 (1st Cir. May 31, 2012). While the Court of Appeals refrained from applying heightened scrutiny, it also declined to employ hyper-deferential rational basis review; instead, the Court held that Supreme Court precedent in cases implicating the interests of historically disadvantaged minority groups (e.g. United States Department of Agriculture v. Moreno, 413 U.S. 528 (1973), City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432 (1985), Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996)) and cases considering federal action in areas of traditional state concern (e.g. United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598 (2000), United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)) suggested a more searching form of rational basis inquiry (so-called 'rational basis with bite'), and that the rationales given for DOMA did not hold up under this closer scrutiny. Injunctive relief has been stayed pending likely review by the Supreme Court; both the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives and the Department of Justice filed for certiorari review on June 29 and July 3, respectively.
On June 27, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States denied the petition for certiorari. 133 S. Ct. 2884 (2013). On July 1, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a mandate making the May 31, 2012 judgment the formal mandate of the Court.
Christopher Schad - 12/07/2012
Claire Lally - 02/22/2015
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Benefit Source
Social Security Retirement and Death Benefit
Discrimination-basis
Sexual orientatation
Gay/lesbian/transgender
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Causes of Action Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Defendant(s) Office of Personnel Management
Plaintiff Description several citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who were or had been married to same-sex partners under Massachusetts law
Indexed Lawyer Organizations GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders)
Class action status sought No
Class action status granted No
Filed Pro Se No
Prevailing Party Plaintiff
Public Int. Lawyer Yes
Nature of Relief Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief Litigation
Order Duration 2013 - n/a
Case Closing Year 2013
Case Ongoing No
Case Listing PB-MA-0005 : Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (D. Mass.)
PB-MA-0009 : Hara v. Office of Personnel Management (No Court)
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Court Docket(s)
D. Mass.
01/19/2011 1:09-cv-10309-JLT
PB-MA-0006-9000.pdf | Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
Brief in Response to Nancy Gill Et. Al
Complaint for Declaratory, Injunctive or Other Relief and for View of Agency Action [ECF# 1]
Complaint for Declaratory, Injunctive, Or Other Relief, and for Review of Agency Action [ECF# 1]
Re: Nancy Gill, et. al. v. Office of Personnel Management, et. al.
Second Amended and Supplemental Complaint for Declaratory, Injunctive, or Other Relief and for Review of Agency Action [ECF# 65]
Memorandum [ECF# 70] (699 F.Supp.2d 374)
PB-MA-0006-0002.pdf | WESTLAW| LEXIS | Detail
Amended Judgment [ECF# 74]
U.S. Court of Appeals
Department of Justice Letter Regarding Defense of Marriage Act Litigation [Ct. of App. ECF# 89]
Superseding Brief for the Office of Personnel Management
Opinion (682 F.3d 1)
Source: U.S. Court of Appeals website
Appeals From the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts [Ct. of App. ECF# 89]
Petition for Certiorari
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari [ECF# 112-2]
Petition for a Write of Certiorari
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI
Response of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in Support of Certiorari
BRIEF IN RESPONSE OF NANCY GILL ET AL.
BRIEF IN OPPOSITION
Reply Brief for Petitioner
REPLY BRIEF FOR THE FEDERAL PETITIONERS
Mandate [Ct. of App. ECF# 332]
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Judges Boudin, Michael (D.D.C., First Circuit) show/hide docs
PB-MA-0006-0006 | PB-MA-0006-0022
Lynch, Sandra Lea (First Circuit) show/hide docs
Tauro, Joseph Louis (D. Mass.) show/hide docs
PB-MA-0006-0002 | PB-MA-0006-0003 | PB-MA-0006-9000
Torruella, Juan R. (D.P.R., First Circuit) show/hide docs
Plaintiff's Lawyers Bickett, Samuel P. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
PB-MA-0006-0001
Bonauto, Mary L. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
PB-MA-0006-0001 | PB-MA-0006-0009 | PB-MA-0006-0013 | PB-MA-0006-0018 | PB-MA-0006-9000
Buseck, Gary D. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
PB-MA-0006-0001 | PB-MA-0006-0009 | PB-MA-0006-0013 | PB-MA-0006-0018 | PB-MA-0006-0021 | PB-MA-0006-9000
Cox, Melissa A. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Deneke, Catherine C. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Dunne, Matthew J. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Eshghi, Nima R (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Gershengorn, Ara B. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Halmkin, William E. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Henry, Vickie L. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Jones, Richard L. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Laporte, Claire (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Miller, Matthew E. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Nagle, David J. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Platzer, Luke C. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Senier, Amy (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Smith, Paul M. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
PB-MA-0006-0001 | PB-MA-0006-0009 | PB-MA-0006-0018 | PB-MA-0006-9000
Wu, Janson (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Defendant's Lawyers Bartolomucci, H. Christopher (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Clement, Paul D. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Davenport, Christine (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Delery, Stuart F. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Dugan, Conor Brendan (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Flentje, August E. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Kingsley, Benjamin S. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Kircher, Kerry W. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Kopp, Robert E (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Kruger, Leondra R. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Moran, Philip D. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Nelson, Nicholas J. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Ortiz, Carmen M. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Pittard, William (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Shah, Pratik A. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Simpson, W. Scott (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Singer, Michael Jay (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Srinivasan, Srikanth (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Tatelman, Todd B. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Verrilli, Donald B. Jr. (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Walker, Mary Beth (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
West, Tony (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
Other Lawyers Barry-Smith, Christopher K. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Boyle, Brian J. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Coakley, Martha (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Ellsworth, Felicia H. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Fleming, Mark C. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Healey, Maura T. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Jacobson, Joshua D. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Miller, Jonathan B. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
O'Grady, Margaret E. (Massachusetts) show/hide docs
Schoenfeld, Alan E. (New York) show/hide docs
Wolfson, Paul Reinherz (District of Columbia) show/hide docs
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