Gonzalez v. Green
Supreme Court of New York
831 N.Y.S.2d 856 (2006)
Gonzalez (plaintiff) and Green (defendant), a same-sex New York couple, married in Massachusetts in 2005 though Massachusetts only permitted same-sex marriage for its own residents; Green described the marriage as principally symbolic, and the couple continued filing separate taxes and never held property jointly as spouses. When the relationship ended, Green's own attorney drafted a separation agreement dividing their cohabitation-era property (Gonzalez transferring the ski house to Green in exchange for a $780,000 payment); Gonzalez later filed for divorce, and Green moved for summary judgment on the ground the marriage was invalid, seeking to rescind the financial agreement on the same basis.
Whether a separation agreement between a same-sex couple is enforceable where the couple's marriage, procured in a state permitting it only for residents, is not recognized under either that state's or their home state's law.