Gay Disabled Vet Wins Landmark NJ Tax Case
by 365Gay.com from the Web, March 17, 2005Newscenter Staff
Newark, NJ Mar 16 -- A New Jersey judge has ruled that that a gay, disabled veteran who owns a home with his partner should receive the same tax break that a married veteran would receive.
For 72-year old Louis Paul Hennefeld, who served in the Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam wars, the ruling means that he and his partner Blair William O'Dell, 60, will not have to pay property taxes in his hometown of Montclair.
Judge Vito L. Bianco said he based his ruling on New Jersey's new Domestic Partnership Act.
The decision overturns a judgment of the Essex County Board of Taxation.
Since 1953, the state Constitution granted tax exemptions to honorably discharged veterans in proportion to the extent of the disability.
A fully disabled veteran would get a 100 percent exemption. The property occupied by a married, fully disabled veteran got the full exemption even if the veteran owned it with a spouse.
Hennefeld and O'Dell own their home jointly.
They brought the suit in September, two months after the partnership act became law.
Montclair attorney Alan G. Trembulak said he doubted the township would appeal because the Legislature is considering a bill that would extend the constitutional provision to gay vets and their partners.
The measure has been approved by a key committee and now moves to the full Assembly.
To be eligible couples would have had to register under New Jersey's Domestic Partnership Act.
The tax break would then be extended to the partner of a disabled or deceased vet.
It would cover 100 percent of the property tax.
All five branches of the military would be included in the measure.
Wednesday's ruling was hailed by Lambda Legal which called it "a great step forward for gay families in New Jersey, especially those who served our country in the armed forces."
However, "This judge would not have had to struggle with this if they had the freedom to marry in New Jersey," said Lambda attorney David Buckel, the lead lawyer for gay couples whose lawsuit seeking to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey is being considered by the state Appellate Court.
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