From Thomson Reuters News: Can same-sex couples in the United States claim the benefits of marriage if they broke up before same-sex marriage became legal nationally in 2015?

That question is currently before two courts – one in Texas and one in Colorado.

Gustavo Hinojosa, a gay resident of Dallas, was in a committed relationship from 2000 to 2015 with Steve Paul LaFredo. But the relationship disintegrated only one month shy of the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that the federal “Defense of Marriage Act” was unconstitutional.

Lambda Legal, an LGBT+ legal advocacy group, is arguing on Hinojosa’s behalf that he can claim to have been in a common law marriage. It argues that the Supreme Court can be applied retroactively so that he can receive alimony — support that is only available to a spouse or former spouse.

In 2003, Dean LaFleur and Tim Pyfe had a commitment ceremony in Colorado.

LaFleur says he only agreed to the ceremony because, in his opinion, it was not legally binding. Pyfer, on the other hand, claims he believed that the ceremony was a public statement of commitment.

The Colorado Gazette reported that when Pyfer went to sue LaFleur for alimony following their break up, LaFleur claimed the wedding bells that were used for decorations in their commitment ceremony were as fake as the marriage.

LaFleur’s claim didn’t work and a common-law marriage was retroactively recognized by a district court in Colorado, with the judge asserting that a legal separation is necessary. The Colorado Supreme Court will now rule on the case.

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