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Lawyers Seek $400K Court Award For Challenging Marriage Law

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A team of attorneys is seeking nearly $400,000 in fees and costs after successfully challenging a Louisiana law that blocked foreign-born U.S. citizens from getting married if they couldn't produce a birth certificate.

 
In a court filing Tuesday, the attorneys asked a federal judge to award them nearly $387,000 in fees and more than $11,800 in costs for their work on the case. Lawyers for the state and three parish clerks didn't immediately respond to the request.

The plaintiffs' attorneys represented Lafayette resident Viet Anh Vo, who sued last October after he and his U.S.-born fiancee had their application for a marriage license rejected two weeks before their wedding.

 
Last month, U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle permanently blocked the state law that prevented Vo and others from obtaining marriage licenses.