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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The state of Utah is agreeing to pay legal fees for four married same-sex couples who sued because the state refused to recognize their unions.
The $95,000 settlement filed Monday pays about half the couples' attorney fees. It ends a lawsuit that started after more than 1,000 same-sex couples wed when the state's ban on gay marriage was struck down in December.
The state initially refused to recognize those unions as it fought in court to keep the gay marriage ban in place.
The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/1vlNLye) the state dropped the marriage recognition case after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from Utah and four other states, making gay marriage legal there.
Utah has already spent $600,000 on outside attorneys brought in to defend the ban.
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
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