- Collins v. Brewer
-
Collins v. Brewer 
United States District Court for the District of Arizona Judge sitting John W. Sedwick Collins v. Brewer No. 2:09-cv-02402-JWS (Az.Dist.Ct.) is a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Arizona's passage of House Bill 2013, a 2009 law which removes state health insurance benefits provided to domestic partners.[1] The bill was signed into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in September 2009, who is the defendant in the lawsuit in her official capacity. In November 2009, Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in response, representing lead plaintiff Tracy Collins and nine other plaintiffs, all domestic partners of someone of the same sex.[2] The plaintiffs asked for summary judgment based on due process and equal protection claims. On July 23, 2010, U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick denied the due process claim, but based on the equal protection claim issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the law pending a trial.[3][4][5]
The suit and the judge's order have no effect on those domestic partners engaged in opposite-sex relationships, who still lose their benefits as scheduled under the 2009 law,[6] although they can get married to receive their benefits.
On September 7, 2011, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the earlier federal court injunction overturning the Arizona law, writing that a state may not provide health care "in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner that adversely affects particular groups that may be unpopular."[7][8]
References
- ^ Trudy Ring (November 18, 2009). "Ariz. Workers Sue to Keep Benefits". The Advocate. http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/11/18/Ariz_Workers_Sue_to_Keep_Benefits/. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Collins v. Brewer". Lambda Legal. November 17, 2009. http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/collins-v-brewer.html. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Casey Newton (July 23, 2010). "Judge blocks Arizona law on domestic-partner benefits". Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/07/23/20100723arizona-domestic-parter-benefits-ruling.html. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ Collins et al v. Brewer et al, Filing 47, accessed July 26, 2010. "ORDER granting in part and denying in part 22 Motion to Dismiss Case: (1) the motion is DENIED with respect to plaintiffs equal protection claim; (2) the motion is GRANTED with respect to plaintiffs substantive due process claim;...."
- ^ Leonard S. Link (July 24, 2010). "Lambda Legal Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Loss of Benefits by Arizona Same-Sex Partners". New York Law School. http://newyorklawschool.typepad.com/leonardlink/. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Howard Fischer (July 23, 2010). "Judge: State can't cancel benefits of gay employees". East Valley Tribune. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/article_4b306ec8-96c1-11df-95af-001cc4c002e0.html. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Egelko, Bob (September 7, 2011). "Same-sex partner benefits can't be cut off". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/06/BALV1L1034.DTL. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
- ^ Opinion, United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit
External links
Categories:- LGBT rights in the United States
- United States LGBT rights case law
- 2010 in United States case law
- Law stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
