News & Events

Simpson Thacher submitted an amicus brief in Windsor v. Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group on behalf of Service and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (SAGE), the National Senior Citizens Law Center (“NSCLC”), and the American Society on Aging in support of the Plaintiff-Appellee.  In Windsor, the plaintiff was denied the protection of the marital deduction under the federal estate tax and was required to pay over $363,000 in estate taxes on her deceased wife’s estate.  The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found Section 3 unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff and the case was appealed to the Second Circuit.  The case challenges the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which creates a federal definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman and consequently denies over 1,000 federal marital benefits and protections to legally married same-sex spouses.  Simpson Thacher’s amicus brief illustrated the tangible impact that DOMA’s definition of marriage has on the lives and financial well-being of LGBT elders.  On October 18, the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s opinion. The Simpson Thacher team included Joe Tringali, Lexie Pitney and Nick Davis.