Gay Man Can Pursue Wrongful Death Case as a Spouse, New York Court Rules; Lambda Legal Says Breakthrough Ruling Is Nations First

(New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2003) - A gay man in New York is a legal spouse and able to sue St. Vincent’s Hospital for medical negligence leading to his longtime partner’s death, a New York court ruled. Lambda Legal, which represents the man in his fight to have the relationship recognized equally, said the ruling is the first in the nation appropriately recognizing people who have a Vermont civil union as spouses outside of Vermont.

“This decision is a tremendous victory that says gay couples who have a civil union from Vermont are spouses and should be recognized as spouses whether they’re in Vermont or elsewhere,” said Adam Aronson, the Lambda Legal staff attorney handling the case. In 2000, Vermont enacted its Civil Union Law to extend the state benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples. No state in the nation allows lesbian and gay couples to marry.

In the decision, issued late Monday and being published Friday, Nassau County Supreme Court Justice John P. Dunne noted that “common-law” spouses from other states are regularly recognized as spouses in New York and said, “(I)t is impossible to justify, under equal protection principles, withholding the same recognition from a union which meets all the requirements of a marriage in New York but for the sexual orientation of its partners.” New York law, he noted, does not define “spouses” as people of different sexes. While Dunne’s ruling doesn’t determine whether same-sex couples should be treated as spouses “for all purposes,” Lambda Legal said today that it will have significant implications.

“This is a breakthrough ruling for same-sex couples in New York and elsewhere,” Aronson said. “For more than two years, we’ve been waiting for a Vermont civil union to be treated appropriately in other states, and today we have that court ruling. This is a significant building-block toward securing full equality for same-sex relationships.”

St. Vincent’s Hospital, in the heart of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, had asked the state court to block John Langan from suing for wrongful death and medical malpractice, claiming that because he and Neal Conrad Spicehandler were a gay couple, their 15-year relationship should not be recognized legally. Langan and Spicehandler were joined in a civil union in Vermont and also had several legal documents reflecting their relationship, and the hospital treated Langan as Spicehandler’s spouse throughout the medical ordeal.

“Conrad was my soul mate and my spouse,” Langan said. “We loved each other as deeply as two people can love, and we did everything we could to formalize, legalize and protect our relationship, our love and our commitment to each other.”

Langan and Spicehandler met in 1986, when they were 25 and 26, respectively, and moved in together the next year. In November 2000, shortly after civil unions became legal in Vermont, 40 family members and close friends attended a ceremony where the couple exchanged vows and rings. Over the years, Langan and Spicehandler’s biological families recognized them as spouses and considered them part of their families.

Last February, Spicehandler was struck by a car driven by a New Jersey man who was on a days-long hit-and-run spree that ultimately injured two dozen people on several Manhattan streets. When he was taken to St. Vincent’s, the only person Spicehandler asked the staff to call was Langan, who in turn called Spicehandler’s other family members. By the time Langan arrived at the hospital, Spicehandler was being taken into surgery to repair a broken leg, and had given his brother a note for Langan that said:

John:
I’m going under.
I haven’t had the chance to see you. I love you.
I’ve made my life in your heart.
-- Conrad

A couple of days later, on Valentine’s Day 2002, Spicehandler’s broken leg was operated on a second time. He, Langan and the rest of the family all thought he would be fine, and were told that he would be released from the hospital within a few days. Langan waited for Spicehandler to return from the surgery that night, visited with him and kissed him goodnight. Early the next morning, he was awoken by a call from St. Vincent’s Hospital telling him that Spicehandler was dead.

“My world was suddenly and completely shattered,” Langan said. “Conrad was the love of my life. I have never been closer to anyone. We had plans, goals and dreams that I will never be able to fulfill without him. I miss everything about Conrad, every moment of my life.”

Last year, after St. Vincent’s was unable to satisfactorily explain how the routine surgery turned fatal, Langan and Spicehandler’s mother, Ruth, sued St. Vincent’s for wrongful death and medical malpractice. They seek to recover for Spicehandler’s pain and suffering before he died, as well as lost financial support. This week’s ruling allows that case to proceed fully.

Lambda Legal represents Langan for his right to sue St. Vincent’s; private attorney David Taback represents him with respect to the specific medical malpractice claims.

Contact: Fred Shank, 212/809-8585 ext. 267; 888/987-1984 (pager)