Kim Davis, Kentucky clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses, ordered to pay up

Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who denied gay couples' marriage licenses in 2015, must pay approximately $260,000 for one couple's attorney fees and expenses, a federal judge ruled.

This is in addition to the $100,000 she was ordered to pay the same couple, David Ermold and David Moore, in September.

"My clients couldn't be happier," Michael Gartland of DelCotto Law Group, who represented the couple, told USA TODAY in September following the order for Davis to pay them $100,000.

Gartland did not immediately respond to a request for comment concerning the $260,000 in attorney fees, which includes payment to his firm.

Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty organization that represents Davis, will ask the court to reverse the jury's verdict against her "because there was insufficient evidence to award the plaintiffs monetary damages," according to a press release from the organization released Tuesday.

If the motion is denied, Liberty Counsel will appeal the case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Davis attracted international attention and even had a brief stint in jail for contempt of court after she denied same-sex couples marriage licenses in Rowan County despite the Supreme Court's landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision in June 2015.

Davis, an evangelical Christian, argued that issuing the license would conflict with her religious beliefs because she believes marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Ermold, Moore and others sued Davis. She also lost her bid for re-election in 2018.

Then, on March 18, 2022, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning ruled that Davis had violated Ermold and Moore's rights — and had violated the rights of another gay couple, James Yates and Will Smith — by denying them the licenses.

"Ultimately, this Court’s determination is simple — Davis cannot use her own constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing her duties as an elected official," Bunning wrote.

The "only remaining issue was that of damages," he said.

Davis appealed this decision, but the Sixth Circuit affirmed it, leading to the recent damages cases.

The full amount requested by Ermold and Moore for attorney fees was granted on Dec. 28 by Bunning despite Davis' lawyers attempting to cut the amount by more than 50%.

Yates and Smith were not awarded any money in damages during their case, following deliberation from the jury.

Liberty Counsel has argued this shows there is not sufficient evidence to award damages.

"During the trial, two juries heard the same evidence and the same arguments in both cases," the organization said in a statement. "The jury in the Yates case awarded zero damages because that is what the evidence required."

However, Bunning said in his order for the damages that Ermold and Moore's monetary requests were reasonable.

"It is well established that courts may grant 'a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs' to 'the prevailing party' in any action to enforce Section 1983. 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b)," he wrote. "Having obtained summary judgment on liability and a jury award of damages, Plaintiffs are unquestionably the 'prevailing party' and are entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses."

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Same-sex marriage: Kentucky clerk told to pay up for denying licenses