Hood County Believed to Be First in Nation to Pay Financial Settlement for Refusing to Issue Same Sex Marriage Licenses
O’Connell & Soifer LLP and Kaplan Law Firm PLLC are pleased to announce the settlement of their clients’ marriage equality lawsuit, James Cato and Jody Stapleton v. Katie Lang, in her official capacity as Hood County Clerk, No. 4:15-cv-491-A in the U.S. District Court, N.D. Texas, Ft. Worth Division. Cato and Stapleton are believed to be the first same-sex couple whose challenge to a County Clerk for failure to issue a marriage license to them resulted in both the issuance of licenses and payment by the County of the attorneys’ fees incurred by the couple in fighting for their rights. Hood County paid $43,872.10 to settle the case.