Cases: Victories
A.E.H. v. M.R.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously September 28, 2012 that Massachusetts must recognize other states’ parallel spousal statuses for same-sex couples, such as California registered domestic partnerships. Under the ruling, both spouses are the… Read More →
Todd Elia-Warnken v. Richard Elia
July 26, 2012 - Victory! The MA Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor our our client, Richard Elia, stating that “a Vermont civil union must be dissolved prior to either party entering into a marriage… Read More →
Patino v. Birken Manufacturing Co.
GLAD and the Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association (CELA) applaud a May 4, 2012 ruling from the Connecticut Supreme Court that employers can be liable if they fail to protect employees from harassment based on sexual… Read More →
Nolan v. Labree
Addressing the issue of parentage in gestational surrogate births for the first time, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on May 3, 2012 ruled that District Courts have the authority under current law to determine who… Read More →
Parents of Student K.1 / SAU #53 – Epsom School District
In a victory upholding the efficacy and enforceability of New Hampshire’s anti-bullying statute, GLAD represented an Epsom, New Hampshire student whose high school failed to address vicious cyberbullying by several classmates.
The student was… Read More →
Raftopol v. Ramey
In a first-of-its kind decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 5, 2011 that a gay male couple who wanted to have children and used a gestational surrogate are the children’s legal parents, and… Read More →
In re A.M.B.
GLAD filed an amicus brief with the Maine high court in support of a trangender man who was denied a name change by Cumberland County Probate court. Ignoring the well-established legal standard that allows anyone… Read More →
Doe v. Reed
In June, 2010 the U. S. Supreme Court handed a defeat to anti-gay groups in the State of Washington with an 8-1 decision in Doe v. Reed. Doe addressed the efforts of anti-marriage equality groups… Read More →
O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Victory! On February 2, 2010, the U.S. Tax Court issued an important decision in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, ruling for the first time that treatment for gender identity disorder qualifies as medical care… Read More →
AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region v. Town of Gilsum
Victory! GLAD Announced a settlement in this case on September 1, 2009. The settlement will enable ASMR to operate its group home for people with HIV without many of the onerous restrictions previously imposed by… Read More →
Kerrigan & Mock v. Connecticut Dept. of Public Health
On Friday, October 10, 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to full marriage equality.
On August 25, 2004, GLAD filed suit on behalf of eight gay and lesbian… Read More →
Shaw v. Murphy
On February 19, 2008, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Ashley Shaw, who has sought to get MassHealth to cover her medically necessary HIV-related surgery. When Ashley was 15, her doctors recommended… Read More →
Parker v. Hurley
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on January 31, 2008 unanimously affirmed District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by two sets of parents against the Lexington school… Read More →
Adoption of M.A. and R.A.
The Maine Law Court issued a unanimous decision on August 30, 2007 lifting the bar on unmarried couples adopting children.
As a result of the ruling, plaintiffs Ann Courtney and Marilyn Kirby were finally…
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Bedford and Breen v. New Hampshire Technical College System
The state of New Hampshire dropped its appeal in this case on May 7, 2007, providing a definitive victory for GLAD and the plaintiffs. The New Hampshire Superior Court ruled on May 3, 2006, that… Read More →
Cote-Whitacre et al. v. Dept. Public Health
On March 30, 2006, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court determined in the absence of a home state’s “express prohibition” against marriage by same-sex couples – through a constitutional amendment, statute, or controlling appellate decision, Massachusetts… Read More →
C. J. Doyle v. Goodridge
One of a barrage of actions filed early in 2004 to prevent the implementation of Goodridge on May 17, 2004, this action sought a further stay of Goodridge until the constitutional amendment process could be… Read More →
Pulsifer v. Portland
GLAD represented the City of Portland, Maine against an attack on the city’s domestic partnership registry by ten-taxpayers, along with two anti-gay organizations, the Center for Marriage Law and the Alliance Defense Fund Law Center,… Read More →
C.E.W. v. D.E.W.
GLAD, along with Maine co-counsel, won the right to seek full parental rights and responsibilities for a non-biological lesbian mother in Maine whose former partner, the child’s biological mother, was seeking to terminate any legal… Read More →
Barreto-Neto v. Town of Hardwick Police Department
GLAD worked with a police officer in the Town of Hardwick, Vermont, in Northern Vermont who was terminated from the police department when the Town Manager learned that he is transgender. Anthony Barreto-Neto, an experienced… Read More →
In re Nancy Walsh
GLAD applied for and won compensation from the federal September 11 Victim Compensation Fund on behalf of Nancy Walsh, a lesbian whose partner of 13 years was one of the passengers on Flight 11 who… Read More →
Blanchflower v. Blanchflower and Mayer
GLAD filed an amicus curiae brief in a divorce case addressing the question of whether the New Hampshire adultery provision as a fault-based ground for divorce includes same-sex extra-marital relationships. GLAD’ s brief argued that… Read More →
Goodridge et al. v. Dept. Public Health
In a historic opinion on November 18, 2003, GLAD won a ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that gay and lesbian couples can no longer be excluded from civil marriage rights in Massachusetts. GLAD… Read More →
Brindamour, et al. v. Manchester Board of Education
GLAD used the Connecticut anti-discrimination provisions based on sexual orientation and marital status to help a group of teachers and school administrators in Manchester, CT to obtain insurance benefits for their domestic partners. These educators… Read More →
Guardianship of I.H.
GLAD represented a committed lesbian couple from Kennebec County who jointly decided to have children together. They took all legal steps available to them to protect their relationship with each other and their son, executing… Read More →
Rose v. YMCA of Nashua
GLAD intervened on behalf of a lesbian couple and their family in New Hampshire who were denied a family membership rate at the YMCA in Nashua, winning an agreement from the YMCA to revisit their… Read More →
T.T. v. J.R.
In the first case to test the sexual orientation protections in the New Hampshire public accommodations anti-discrimination laws, GLAD successfully resolved a claim by a patient who was denied treatment by her dentist because she… Read More →
Commonwealth v. Landry
In a major victory for public health programs that stem the tide of HIV and hepatitis C, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled on December 6, 2002 that needle exchange program participants may lawfully possess needles… Read More →
Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman
GLAD worked to stop the special access of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to the Connecticut state employees’ charitable campaign in light of their discrimination based on sexual orientation. Our participation in this matter… Read More →
Albano v. Reilly et al
In Albano et al v. Reilly et al, GLAD challenged the propriety of the Attorney General’s certification of the ballot initiative. GLAD’s claim was based on the sweeping nature of the amendment. GLAD claimed that… Read More →
Brett, et al., v. Town of West Hartford
GLAD successfully challenged the discriminatory policy of the Town of West Hartford municipal pool, which sought to exclude same-sex couples and their children from a discounted family membership rate. In November 2002, the West Hartford… Read More →
Proposed “Protection of Marriage” Constitutional Amendment
Supreme Judicial Court Advisory Opinion
In a last ditch attempt to revive the measure before it was to die on December 31, 2002 at midnight, Edward Pawlick, the founder of MCM and the primary…
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GLAD et al. v. Attorney General Thomas Reilly et al
GLAD won a declaration from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that neither of the state’s sodomy laws applies to private, adult, consensual conduct. GLAD filed suit on behalf of itself and several individual gay and… Read More →
Doe v. Roe Physicians
GLAD settled a case against a doctor who refused to provide in-office care to a patient with HIV, after the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights found probable cause to believe that unlawful discrimination had… Read More →
Jette v. Honey Farms
One of two landmark rulings issued in October 2001, in which the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination drew on GLAD legal analysis to rule that transgender people are covered by state non-discrimination laws prohibiting sex and… Read More →
Muzzy v. Cahillane Motors, Inc.
GLAD was instrumental in winning a decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that personal information about a plaintiff, such as sexual orientation, may not be introduced in court for the purpose of perpetuating negative… Read More →
Ayer v. Sommi & Keller
GLAD was instrumental in obtaining a favorable ruling from the Massachusetts Appeals Court that domestic violence laws protect gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as well as heterosexuals. The first same-sex domestic violence case to reach… Read More →
Millett v. Lutco
One of two landmark rulings issued in October 2001, in which the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination drew from GLAD legal analysis to rule that transgender people are covered by state non-discrimination laws prohibiting sex and… Read More →
In re R. C.
GLAD ensured that an incarcerated gay man who was violently attacked and raped by another inmate was able to press charges, despite attempts to obstruct justice by homophobic prison officials. Prison officials initially dismissed R.C.’s… Read More →
Dahill v. Boston Police Department
In this case, in May 2001, the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Massachusetts law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations against individuals whose disability has been corrected or mitigated by medications or… Read More →
Doe v. Kelley (State Police)
As a result of the settlement of a GLAD case against the Massachusetts State Police, a General Order was issued that “officers should not order someone to leave a public area in the absence of… Read More →
Doe v. Managed Care Organization
In the first legal ruling of its kind in the country, GLAD prevailed in an action to cover the cost of a life-saving liver transplant for a Medicaid recipient with both HIV and end-stage liver… Read More →
Doe v. MetLife Disability Insurance and Raytheon
GLAD, with co-counsel Stephen Rosenfeld and Mala Rafik, won the restoration of disability insurance benefits when an insurer wrongfully terminated coverage for a client with HIV who remained too debilitated by advanced HIV and significant… Read More →
Jane Doe v. Roe Moving Company
GLAD won a favorable settlement in a case filed at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) against a central Massachusetts moving company that refused to provide moving services to a mother and her son, upon… Read More →
Rubano v. DiCenzo
The Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that a lesbian co-parent could bring a claim in Family Court to resolve issues of visitation rights with the child she had raised with her former partner, the biological… Read More →
In re Baby Z & An Act Concerning The Best Interest Of…
GLAD helped win second-parent adoption in Connecticut, through work in the courts and assistance to activists drafting legislation. In April 1998, GLAD filed an amicus brief in the Connecticut Supreme Court in a case known… Read More →
In the Matter of Jane Doe
In response to an assault against a lesbian student by a number of her peers at a Western Massachusetts high school, GLAD secured the school’s agreement to do mandatory teacher and student trainings to ensure… Read More →
Rosa v. Park West Bank
In a precedent-setting decision with major implications for the business community, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit confirmed that sex discrimination laws reach situations where individuals are discriminated against because of… Read More →
Doe v. Board of Registration of Cosmetology
GLAD obtained clarification from the Board of Registration of Cosmetology that an individual completing a cosmetology program does not fail the statutory requirement to be certified as free from infectious diseases simply by virtue of… Read More →
Beger v. Division of Medical Assistance
In this case, a Superior Court in Suffolk County ordered the state of Massachusetts to pay for a surgical procedure it had denied to a transsexual woman, but would have provided to a non-transsexual woman. … Read More →
Commonwealth v. Ortiz
A single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion strongly affirming the absolute privacy of a person’s HIV status under Massachusetts law. In this case, in which GLAD filed a friend of the… Read More →
Doe and Doe v. Department of Social Services
GLAD negotiated an agreement with the Department of Social Services that it was an error for the Department to allow only HIV-positive children to be placed in foster care with an HIV-positive couple.
Read More →In re John/Jane Doe
In November 2000, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) issued a landmark ruling stating that all transgender people are protected by Connecticut’s sex discrimination prohibitions. Citing recent cases protective of transgender people,… Read More →
Doe v. Yunits
GLAD obtained a landmark ruling, in the first reported decision ever in a case brought by a transgender student, that a middle school may not prohibit a transgender student from expressing her female gender identity. … Read More →
Doe v. Nashua Housing Authority
GLAD won a change in the practice of the Nashua Housing Authority, which had been illegally demanding private medical information about individuals living in subsidized housing.
Read More →Jason H. v. Boston Public Schools
Representing a Boston student subjected to peer harassment, GLAD negotiated a settlement that includes system-wide training and information regarding sexual orientation and the appointment of a support person in every school.
Read More →Lambert v. MetLife Insurance Company
GLAD won the restoration of disability insurance benefits for a Portland man suffering from disabling fatigue where the insurer sought to rely on mere stabilization from new medications to terminate benefits
Read More →Baker et al. v. State of Vermont
GLAD won a ruling from the Vermont Supreme Court that recognized the right for same-sex couples to have their relationships afforded the same legal benefits, protections, and obligations as marriage under Vermont law, and ordered… Read More →
Crandall v. Boston Concession Group
GLAD won a ruling that Massachusetts non-discrimination law applies equally to every employee of Massachusetts companies, even if the employee works out-of-state. GLAD represented two women from Maine who worked in Maine and were essentially… Read More →
In re D.G.
Where a southern Maine school sought to “solve” the two-year harassment of a student by graduating him a year early, GLAD successfully turned the focus back to a proper education and an end to the… Read More →
M.G. v. Providence School Department
Representing a Providence student arrested and expelled from school after false accusations by tormenting peers, GLAD won an agreement completely vindicating the student.
Read More →Carr v. New England Medical Center
GLAD won a favorable settlement on behalf of a gay man denied sperm banking and transport services simply because he is gay and assumed to be at “high risk” for HIV.
Read More →West High GSA v. Manchester School District
Faced with a lawsuit by GLAD and its NH co-counsel, the Manchester School District directed West High’s principal to recognize a student initiated Gay/Straight Alliance. The students had sought recognition from the school for a… Read More →
Doe v. Maine Correctional Center
GLAD succeeded in obtaining proper medical care and medications for an HIV-positive prisoner denied even access to a doctor knowledgeable about HIV.
Read More →Doe v. Roe Hospital
GLAD successfully resolved a lawsuit against a hospital that violated the HIV testing and confidentiality statute by revealing a patient’s HIV status to his employer.
Read More →E.N.O. v. L.M.M.
In a landmark decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a non-biological lesbian mother, who helped raise her son from his birth, is a de facto parent with the right to seek visitation. GLAD… Read More →
Gagne v. Holyoke Health Center and Dr. George Abraham
GLAD won a favorable settlement on behalf of Erica Gagne, who was denied treatment by Dr. Abraham of the Holyoke Health Center after she identified herself as a lesbian. Ms. Gagne, who went to the… Read More →
In re South Kingstown High School
GLAD intervened successfully on behalf of a high school gay/straight alliance that had been denied the equivalent privileges of other student organizations. The principal was persuaded to honor the school’s obligations under the Federal Equal… Read More →
Bragdon v. Abbott
In its first case addressing HIV, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Bragdon v. Abbott that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people living with HIV, whether or not… Read More →
Gavann v. Douglas Wooldridge, M.D.
GLAD obtained a $10,000 judgment in Suffolk Superior Court against a surgeon who illegally tested a patient for HIV without his knowledge or consent.
Read More →Aaron Fricke v. Richard B. Lynch
GLAD’s 1980 case, Aaron Fricke v. Richard B. Lynch, is a milestone in protecting the rights of LGBT students. GLAD founder John Ward and co-counsel argued that, in not allowing him to bring a male… Read More →