"We are grateful to the board and the legislature for protecting same-sex couples," Shannon Minter, legal director for NCLR, said in the release. "Today's ruling by the supreme court ensures that this protection is secure."
"The board of equalization has the authority to grant gay and lesbian couples the same protections in a time of grief as everyone else," Brian Chase, Lambda Legal senior staff attorney, said in the statement. "No one should lose their home after the death of a partner."
In March 2005, Sutter and Orange counties challenged the protection in state court while three same-sex couples along with NCLR, Lambda Legal, Equality California, and the law firm of Munger, Tolles, and Olson defended it.
Ultimately, Orange County dropped out while assessors from Tehama and Madera counties joined, but in 2006, Sacramento County superior court judge Jack Sapunor rejected the challenge.
