Court rules lesbian widow must receive survivor’s benefits
A federal court has determined that a lesbian widow is entitled to her late spouse’s benefits partly on the basis that Illinois civil union law is sufficient for federal purposes — a view that differs from the Obama administration’s interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act.
On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in a 12-page unsigned decision that Jean Tobits is entitled to survivor’s benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, following the death of her spouse, Sarah Ellyn Farley, who died of cancer in 2010.
“Windsor makes clear that where a state has recognized a marriage as valid, the United States Constitution requires that the federal laws and regulations of this country acknowledge that marriage,” the decision states. “In light of that, this Court finds that Ms. Tobits is Ms. Farley’s ‘Spouse’ pursuant to the terms of the Plan.”
The lawsuit, known as O’Connor v. Tobits, came about in 2011 as the result of Cozen O’ Connor PC, the law firm where Farley worked, filing an interpleader action. Both Tobits and Farley’s parents, who didn’t recognize the marriage of her lesbian daughter, requested payment of the Pre-Retirement Survivor Annuity after Farley’s death that was available under the firm’s profit sharing plan.
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/07/29/court-rules-lesbian-widow-must-receive-survivors-benefits/