Another Case From Arizona

[Gregory Matthews]

The Colorado Bakery case hs not ended the litigation.  That Arizona Court of Appeals ruled yesterday (June 7),  on a wedding  invitation case that  is likely to go to the Supreme Court, if accepted.  The following is a 26 page opinion of the Court:

http://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2018/1 CA-CV 16-0602.pdf

For a brief summation of the case see:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2018/06/07/arizona-court-rules-for-phoenix-in-protecting.html

From the above:

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in favor of the city of Phoenix in regards to a local business not wanting to create custom artwork for same-sex couples, officials said.

The court released an opinion that stated Phoenix would be able to continue to use a city ordinance designed to protect gay individuals and gay couples in the exercise of their civil rights.

The ruling also noted while religious objections to same-sex marriage are protected, those objections do not allow business owners to discriminate or deny certain people access to their goods and services.

 

 

 

[Gregory Matthews]

I think it very interesting that some 14 different law firms and some 21 different lawyers, if my count is correct, were involved in this case.  Take your pick as to how the charges might have ranged from $300 to $500 per hour (or more), as to   what the legal costs amounted to.  It should be noted that each of the law firms probably had people working on the case that never appeared in court and therefore were not listed in the records.  

It should be noted that, with the exception of certain taxable costs awarded to the City of Phoenix, the Court did not allow either side to recover its legal costs from the other side.