After same-sex split, panel OKs property claims

By Marc Karlinsky Law Bulletin staff writer

Posted December 22, 2014 2:30 PM

A state appeals court on Friday ruled a Cook County judge may sue her former domestic partner over ownership of their house after their 26-year relationship ended — straying from 35-year-old precedent that denied such claims from unmarried co-habitants of a home. In a case that garnered participation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Lambda Legal, the 1st District Appellate Court found that the policy goals underpinning Hewitt v. Hewitt are vastly different in 2014 than they were in 1979 …

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