Judge says Ninth Circuit case could require dismissal SAN FRANCISCO—An attempt by a same-sex couple to force California law on an Arizona Internet business stalled yesterday when a federal judge in San Francisco ordered a stay to all proceedings in
Butler v. Adoption Media, LLC, et al. Adoption Media, LLC and the other defendants provide a forum for birth mothers to locate adoptive parents but they do not serve as adoption agencies.
The plaintiffs, a same-sex homosexual couple, are asking the court to apply California law to Adoption Media, LLC, et al. The case began in late 2003 when two homosexuals filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination because the defendants refused to post their same-sex adoption profile on an Internet site owned by the defendants. Adoption Media, LLC and the other defendants said that the social science research shows children do best with a mother and a father.
The case was stayed because another case already in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,
Gator.com Corp.v. L.L. Bean, Inc., could determine whether California may regulate out-of-state Internet companies that advertise services nationwide.
"We’re celebrating," said Glen Lavy, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents Adoption Media, LLC and the other defendants. "The Ninth Circuit’s ruling will have a significant impact on the cutting edge legal issue of whether states may exercise personal jurisdiction over Internet businesses, including adoption-related businesses. Our judge said she will reconsider whether to dismiss
Butler v. Adoption Media, LLC, et al, after the Ninth Circuit decides
Gator.com."
Butler v. Adoption Media, LLC, originally filed in State Superior Court in San Francisco on December 15, 2003, is now in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
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