goodfriend and bryant petition for tro (travis county)

8/9/2019 Goodfriend and Bryant Petition for TRO (Travis County)

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S R H GOODFR IEND

ND

SUZANNE

BRYANT

PLAINTIFFS

VS.

DANA

DEBEAUVOIR TRAVIS

COUNTY CLERK

DEFEND NT

NO.

IN

THE

DISTRICT

COURT

OF TRAVIS COUNTY TEXAS

JUDI I L DISTRICT

P L I N T I F F S O R I G I N L

P E T I T I O N

N D

P P L I C T I O N

F O R T E M P O R RY R E S TR IN I N G

O R D E R

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SA ID COURT:

Plaintiffs Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant file this Original Petition and

Application for Injunctive Relief againstDefendantDanaDeBeauvoir.

I.

Plaintiffs Goodfriend and Bryant are a same-sex couple who desire to get married. United

States District Judge Orlando Garcia has ruled that the Texas ban on same-sex marriages is

unconstitutional, illegal, and unenforceable. On February 17, 2015, the Honorable Guy Herman,

Probate Judge, Travis County, Texas, issued an Order expressly finding that Texas Family Code

§§ 2.401, and 6.204 b , and Artic le I, § 32

of

the Texas Constitution are unconstitutional insofar

as they restrict marriage in the State ofTexas to the union of a man and woman and prohibit the

creation or recognition

of

marriage to same-sex couples, because such restrictions and

prohibitions violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause

of

the Fourteenth

Amendment

to the Uni ted States Cons ti tu t ion.

Plaintiffs

have therefore asked Defendant

DeBeauvoir to issue a marriage license to allow Plaintiffs to

m rry

Basedupon her concerns


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about the Texas

statutory

and constitutional prohibitions

against

same-sex

marriage—including

Texas Family Code §§ 2.001,2.012, and6.204, andin Article I, § 32of the TexasConstitution-

Defendant DeBeauvoir has

told

Plaintiffs that

she

cannot

issue

thema

marriage

license,

unless

and until

aCourt orders her to do

so.

Thedenial

of

amarriage

license,

based on

those statutory

andconstitutional prohibitionsagainstsame-sexmarriage, violates Plaintiffs constitutional

rights under the Due Process and Equal Protectionclausesof the United States Constitution.

Accordingly, Plaintiffs request

that

this

Court

issue an immediate Temporary Restraining Order

granting the reliefnecessaryto allowDefendantDeBeauvoirto issue a

marriage

license.

As theUnited

States

Supreme

Court has held,

the freedom tomarry haslongbeen

recognized

asone

of

thevitalpersonal rights essential to the orderly

pursuit ofhappiness

by

free

men. oving v. irginia 388U.S. 1

(1967).

The Texas statutory andconstitutional prohibitions

against same-sex

marriage

denyPlaintiffs the opportunity to exercise that fundamental

personal

freedom. Current Texas lawpromotes the view thatsame-sex

relationships

and families are

inferior; discriminates

against

homosexuals; demean[s]

Plaintiffs and

other

same-sex couples;

andtreats Plaintiffs and other same-sex

couples

as second-class citizensby tell[ing] those

couples,

and

all

the

world,

thattheir [prospective] marriages are unworthy

of

recognition.

ee United tates

v. Windsor

133

S. Ct. 2675,2693-96 (2013).

Plaintiffs inability to obtain issuance ofamarriage license is also causing

Plaintiffs

ongoing,

irreparable loss

ofactual and

potential

benefits otherwise available under the law,

including financial

losses that are

not capable

ofbeing

calculated with

reasonable

certainty, and


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including

but not limited to

depriving Plaintiffs

of

intestacy

rights;

homestead

rights; the

potential

rights

of

spousal

maintenance

and community-property presumption; right

of

a

surviving spouse to pursue remedies for possible wrongful death; and spousal evidentiary

privileges.

Additionally, Plaintiff

Goodfriend

has

been diagnosed

with

and received

extensive

treatment for ovarian cancer, a life-threatening illness, with allof the inevitable, attendant stress

and

disruption of life

and family;

thus, her

future remains

veryuncertain.

IV

Plaintiffs haveno adequate remedyat lawto obtain a

marriage

licenseandto remedythat

ongoing

violation

of

the

United States Constitution. Unless

this

Court

grants

an

immediate

TRO,

the violations

of

Plaintiffs fundamental constitutional rights will continue on a daily basis, and

will

cause

ongoing, imminent, and irreparable damage to Plaintiffs.

Therefore, Plaintiffs request that this Courtimmediately (i) issue a Temporary

Restraining

Order to

prevent

the

unconstitutional violation of

Plaintiffs right to obtain a

marriage

license;

(ii) seta

bond

in

accordance

withTex. R.

Civ.

P.

684; iii)

setthis

matter

for

Temporary Injunction hearing, and

then

for trial

on

Permanent Injunction hearing;

and (iv)atthe

conclusion

of

such

hearings, grant

temporary and

permanent

injunctive relief,and

grant

all

additional relief

to

which

Plaintiffs

are entitled

Respectfully submitted,

HERRING

IRWIN

L L P

1411 West Avenue Suite 100

Austin Texas 78701

(512)320-0665

1Tex.

Probate Code

§§ 38,45.

2Tex. Const.,

art.

16, § 52.

3

Tex. FamilyCode §§3.003,7.001, 7.003, 8.051.


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512)

519-7580-FAX

Email:

[email protected]

Charles Herring, Jr.

State Bar No. 0953410

Jess M. Irwin II I

State

ar No. 1 04 25 7

CATHERINE

A.

MAUZY

State

ar No.

13239400

Mauzy Tucker PLLC

1717

West

6th Street Suite 315

Austin,

Texas

78703

512 474-1493

512 479-7910

Brian Thompson

State Bar

No.

24051425

HOPPER

MIKESKA, PLLC

4

West

th

Street Suite 4 8

Austin, Texas 78701

512 615-6195

512)

610-1306-FAX

Email: [email protected]

ATTORNEYS OR PLAINTIFFS


5/6

y

THE ST TE

OF

TEX S

COUNTY OF TR VIS

VERIFIC TION

BEFORE ME, the

undersigned

Notary Public,

on this day personally Sarah Goodfriend,

who being by me duly

sworn on

her

oath

deposed

and said that

she

has read

Plaintiffs' Original

Petition and Application for

Temporary

Restraining

Order,

and that the facts

stated

therein are

within her personal knowledge andarc true and correct.

_':xXv Cjor^-ifiACL^

<

Sarah Goodfr iend

SUBSCRIBED

AND

SWORN

TO

BEFORE

ME

on

this

jg^day

of

February

2015

to

certify which witness my hand and official seal.

4 &S& NICOLE M H LLI Y

K'Wfcs^l

Notary Public.

State

of Texas

W-.AN.-V/ MyCommission Expires

&& *

March 22, 2018

My Commission Expires:

3 JQ ft

NOT RY PU LIC

-

ST TE OF TE


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SARAH GOODFRIEND AND

S U Z A N N E

RY NT

PLAINTIFFS

V S

DANA DEBEAUVOIR TRAVIS

C OU N TY C LE RK

D E F E N D A N T

NO

O R D E R

IN

TH E D IS TRI CT

COURT

OF TRAVIS COUNTY TEXAS

J U D IC I A L D I ST R IC T

Plaintiffs Goodfriend

and Bryant in the

above styled

and numbered action

are

seeking an

immediate Temporary

Restraining

Order to

prohibit the defendant from continuing

to enforce

prohibitions

against issuance of

marriage

licenses to same sex persons.

Given the

time urgency

and the other circumstances in this case, and the ongoing violations of Plaintiffs constitutional

rights

the

Court

has

concluded that good

cause exists

to allow filing

ofthe

pleadings

in

this

matterin paper form rather than by e-filing, and to permit filing directly with the Court in

accordance with Tex. R. Civ. P. 21 f) 4)C) and 74.

It

is s o Orde red

SIGNED this the

day of February. 2014

goodfriend and bryant petition for tro (travis county)

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