Arlington County v. White
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Arlington County v. White, 528 S.E.2d 706 (Va. 2000), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of Virginia that prohibited the local government of Arlington County from expanding its employee health insurance benefits beyond spouses or financial dependents. Although the issue was resolved as a question of local government power and statutory interpretation, the ruling was a setback for gay rights activists who had long sought benefits for domestic partners and who were prohibited from marrying under the state constitution. The partial dissent by Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr. accused the County of using the health care expansion as a disguised attempt to legitimize same sex unions and argued that the state public policy against homosexual unions should have dictated the outcome rather than the narrower statutory interpretation relied upon by the majority.
Arlington County v. White | |
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Court | Supreme Court of Virginia |
Full case name | Arlington County, et al. v. Andrew White, et al. |
Decided | April 21, 2000 |
Citation(s) | 259 Va. 708; 528 S.E.2d 706; 2000 Va. LEXIS 71; 24 Employee Benefits Cas. (BNA) 1504 |
Case history | |
Prior action(s) | Summary judgment granted to plaintiffs, Arlington County Circuit Court |
Holding | |
The county government exceeded its state-granted power to provide benefits to its employees by expanding the definition of covered dependents to include unmarried partners. Arlington County Circuit Court affirmed. | |
Court membership | |
Chief judge | Harry L. Carrico |
Associate judges | Elizabeth B. Lacy, Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr., Barbara Milano Keenan, Lawrence L. Koontz, Jr., and Cynthia D. Kinser, Senior Justice Asbury Christian Compton |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Koontz, joined by Lacy, Keenan, Koontz, Kinser |
Concurrence | Kinser |
Concur/dissent | Hassell, joined by Carrico, Compton |
Laws applied | |
Va. Code §§ 15.1-1517(A), 51.1-801 |