LaFleur v. Pyfer
Colorado Supreme Court
479 P.3d 869 (2021)
- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
Timothy Pyfer (plaintiff) and Dean LaFleur (defendant) were in a same-sex couple and lived in Colorado. After the relationship ended in 2018, Pyfer filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. Although Pyfer contended that he and LaFleur had formed a common-law marriage in 2003, Colorado law prohibited same-sex couples from forming common-law marriages at that time. In 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Obergefell thus declared that Colorado’s prohibition against common-law marriages between same-sex partners was unconstitutional. The trial court held that Pyfer and LaFleur were permitted to form a common-law marriage prior to Obergefell. LaFleur appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Márquez, J.)
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