Years after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a former county clerk is to pay a huge settlement. The former Kentucky county clerk who refused to give the permits in 2015 must pay the couple’s attorneys $260,000 in fees and expenses. In addition, she must pay $100,000 in damages to the couple, as awarded by a jury in 2023.
Kim Davis, an ex-clerk of Rowan County in northeastern Kentucky, became a national figure in 2015. The former county clerk defied the US Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. Davis refused to sign marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious beliefs.
At the time, US District Judge David L. Bunning found her in contempt of court and ordered her to jail. Consequently, she spent five days behind bars. Afterward, the couple, David Ermold and David Moore sued Davis for denying their marriage licenses multiple times.
In 2022, Bunning ruled that Davis violated the couple’s constitutional rights. Also, in September 2023, a jury awarded the couple $100,000 in damages. However, the judge’s decision is the latest outcome in the litigation that began in 2015. But the case took years to settle as Davis appealed many of the earlier decisions.
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Following the court’s ruling, Davis’s attorneys argued that the court should reduce the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees by more than half. However, Bunning maintained that the rates were reasonable, given that the plaintiffs prevailed. “Where a plaintiff has obtained excellent results, his attorney should recover a fully compensatory fee,” Bunning wrote.
Joseph Buckles, one of the couple’s attorneys, said he was happy the judge didn’t reduce the fees by a penny. However, he noted that the latest ruling felt “bittersweet.” “It all came at a cost to my clients,” he said. Buckles stated that the couple’s life became public because of the case.
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He said, “They became celebrities for a cause they never chose.” Buckles also issued a statement praising the decision. He said the result of the case pleased his clients. “They continue to appreciate their community and have a renewed faith in the justice system,” Buckles said.
Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit religious organization representing Davis, condemned the judgment. “This latest judgment allows Liberty Counsel to ask the Court to reverse the jury’s verdict against Davis,” their statement said. The organization maintained “insufficient evidence to award the plaintiffs monetary damages” in their statement.
Also, the organization vowed to appeal the case to the Court of Appeals if the court denies their request for a reversal. Davis was 49 and the chief clerk in Rowan County in June 2015. Then, the Supreme Court ruled that gay couples had the constitutional right to marry.
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However, as an evangelical Christian, she excused herself from issuing same-sex couples marriage licenses. In July 2015, a video of Davis refusing Ermold and Moore a marriage license went viral. Consequently, she became one of the famous clerks nationwide who rejected the Supreme Court’s ruling.
While some hailed her as a hero for sticking to her principles, others criticized her for disrespecting the law. Also, due to her defiance of the court order, Davis lost her reelection bid for county clerk in 2018.
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