• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD

South Carolina Fought Gay Marriage So Hard It Owes Same-Sex Couple $135K

August 11, 2015 by John Wright Leave a Comment

Condon

Congratulations, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (below right). Your office was so vigorous and passionate in its defense of the the Palmetto State’s same-sex marriage ban that it forced attorneys for a same-sex couple to run up hundreds of thousands in legal fees.

The bad news is that, because you ultimately lost, you now owe that couple’s attorneys $135,300, according to U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel.

WIlson.AlanSouth Carolina is the latest state to receive its tab for violating the civil rights of gay residents by opposing their freedom to marry in court. Last October, Colleen Condon and Nichols Bleckley (above) were forced to sue South Carolina, the only state in the 4th Circuit still enforcing its marriage ban after the appeals court struck down a similar law in Virginia.

The Associated Press reports:

In his arguments against paying legal fees, Wilson called the opposing attorneys’ work excessive, especially considering other courts had already settled the issues.

“If that is so, one might reasonably ask why the state filed a 57-page brief raising a broad array of procedural and substantive issues, including a methodical attack on recent Fourth Circuit precedent,” Gergel wrote. The attorney general “cannot engage in a no holds bar defense and then complain” the opposing counsel spent too much time responding.

Gergel did offer Wilson’s office a compliment, however, saying it gave such a vigorous and passionate defense that the couple’s attorneys had to expend significant time addressing the issues.

Wilson’s office, which has 28 days to respond, reportedly is reviewing Gergel’s ruling. And while $135,300 may seem like a lot, it’s pocket change compared to same-sex couples’ attorney fees in other states. Attorneys for same-sex couples in Michigan, who took their case to trial, recently requested $2 million from the state for their trouble.

In January, we reported that plaintiffs in successful same-sex marriage lawsuits had been awarded more than $800,000 in attorneys fees’ from states that defended the bans, with another $2.6 million in requests pending.

Of course, some states — including Texas, which seems intent on running up its tab even higher — still haven’t received their bigotry bills. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Alan Wilson, Colleen Condon, gay marriage, Nichols Bleckley, Richard Gergel, south carolina, Supreme Court

Recent Posts

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘I am Honored to Announce That the United States Will Remain a Member of the World Health Organization’ — WATCH

    Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘I am Honored to Announce That the United States Will Remain a Member of the World Health Organization’ — WATCH

    45 mins ago
  • Pete Buttigieg to Testify in Transportation Secretary Confirmation Hearing: WATCH LIVE

    Pete Buttigieg to Testify in Transportation Secretary Confirmation Hearing: WATCH LIVE

    2 hours ago
  • Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Says He Was ‘Too GAY’ to Get a Pardon from Trump: ‘Boy Were We All Stupid’

    Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Says He Was ‘Too GAY’ to Get a Pardon from Trump: ‘Boy Were We All Stupid’

    2 hours ago
  • Biden Signs ‘Most Substantive, Wide-Ranging’  LGBTQ Rights Executive Order in U.S. History

    Biden Signs ‘Most Substantive, Wide-Ranging’ LGBTQ Rights Executive Order in U.S. History

    2 hours ago
Previous Post: « What To Watch This Week On TV: Bid Adieu to ‘RHONYC’ and ‘Becoming Us’
Next Post: Donald Trump Returns to Fox News, Still Won’t Rule Out Third Party Run: VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘I am Honored to Announce That the United States Will Remain a Member of the World Health Organization’ — WATCH

  • Pete Buttigieg to Testify in Transportation Secretary Confirmation Hearing: WATCH LIVE

  • Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Says He Was ‘Too GAY’ to Get a Pardon from Trump: ‘Boy Were We All Stupid’

Recent Posts

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘I am Honored to Announce That the United States Will Remain a Member of the World Health Organization’ — WATCH

    Dr. Anthony Fauci: ‘I am Honored to Announce That the United States Will Remain a Member of the World Health Organization’ — WATCH

    45 mins ago
  • Pete Buttigieg to Testify in Transportation Secretary Confirmation Hearing: WATCH LIVE

    Pete Buttigieg to Testify in Transportation Secretary Confirmation Hearing: WATCH LIVE

    2 hours ago
  • Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Says He Was ‘Too GAY’ to Get a Pardon from Trump: ‘Boy Were We All Stupid’

    Tiger King’s Joe Exotic Says He Was ‘Too GAY’ to Get a Pardon from Trump: ‘Boy Were We All Stupid’

    2 hours ago
  • Biden Signs ‘Most Substantive, Wide-Ranging’  LGBTQ Rights Executive Order in U.S. History

    Biden Signs ‘Most Substantive, Wide-Ranging’ LGBTQ Rights Executive Order in U.S. History

    2 hours ago
  • AOC Takes Down Ted Cruz  After Ignorant Tweet Slamming Biden’s Paris Climate Accord Action

    AOC Takes Down Ted Cruz After Ignorant Tweet Slamming Biden’s Paris Climate Accord Action

    2 hours ago
  • Trump Issued One Last Eleventh-Hour Pardon and it Was a Gift to FOX News Judge Jeanine Pirro

    Trump Issued One Last Eleventh-Hour Pardon and it Was a Gift to FOX News Judge Jeanine Pirro

    3 hours ago
  • Biden Tells White House Staffers What Will Cause Him to Fire Them on the Spot: WATCH

    Biden Tells White House Staffers What Will Cause Him to Fire Them on the Spot: WATCH

    3 hours ago
  • Jerome Adams, Wonka, Nats Getty, Drain the Swamp, Vogue, Patriot Party, Cher, The Lady and The Dale: HOT LINKS

    Jerome Adams, Wonka, Nats Getty, Drain the Swamp, Vogue, Patriot Party, Cher, The Lady and The Dale: HOT LINKS

    19 hours ago
  • Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: LIVE VIDEO

    Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: LIVE VIDEO

    23 hours ago
  • World #3 Golfer Justin Thomas Says He’ll Undergo ‘Better Person’ Training Program After Using Homophobic Slur

    World #3 Golfer Justin Thomas Says He’ll Undergo ‘Better Person’ Training Program After Using Homophobic Slur

    23 hours ago

Most Commented

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Log in