Obergefell Fallout

Last month brought us the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that same sex marriages need to be recognized. While this is a milestone in its own right, the devil is often in the details. Along the road to the Obergefell decision, states devised different legal mechanisms to permit same sex relationships. These included civil unions and domestic partnerships in addition to same sex marriage. While we now have the guidance that these relationships must be recognized, it is not clear how and when. A Philadelphia case decided in June illustrates the point.

In June 2014, a couple joined by a civil union undertaken in Vermont in 2002 filed to dissolve that relationship by means of a divorce action. Both were residents of Philadelphia, They each filed consents to dissolution of what they properly termed their "civil union". Thereafter a praecipe to secure entry of the dissolution/divorce was filed.

On June 22, 2015, Philadelphia Judge Margaret T. Murphy signed an order dismissing the action citing Pa.R.C.P. 1920.1(a) which...