The Brooklyn-based New York Appellate Division, 2nd Department, ruled on November 15 that New York's Marriage Equality Law (MEL), which made it legal for same-sex couples to marry in New York as of July 24, 2011, should be applied retroactively to a lesbian couple's 2005 religious marriage ceremony in deciding whether assets acquired between those two dates should be considered marital property for purposes of equitable distribution in a divorce proceeding.
Robin Mackoff and Linda Bluemke had a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony in 2005... at that time New York did not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, so the marriage had no legal significance.
In June 2011, New York enacted the MEA, which amended the state's marriage law to allow same-sex couples to get marriage licenses and enter into legally recognized marriages. The MEA provided that there should be no distinction between same-sex and difference-sex marriages for any purpose of New York law.
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