Ex-Clerk Who Denied Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Ordered To Pay $260,000

A judge has ordered Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue gay marriage licenses, to pay $260,000 in legal fees to David Ermold and David Moore.

The pair sued Davis in 2015 after she refused to issue them a marriage license, citing her religious beliefs. After winning the lawsuit in September, a judge awarded the couple $100,000 in damages.

Davis spent five days in jail after ignoring court orders to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The orders were issued after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which gave same-sex couples the right to marry across the country.

Davis refused calls to resign and held her elected position until 2018 when she was defeated by Democrat Elwood Caudill Jr.

Liberty Counsel, the law firm representing Davis, said they plan to appeal the decision of the civil case and the fines issued by the judge.

"The finding of liability and the Ermold damages jury verdict are unsound and easily set up this case on an eventual route to the U.S. Supreme Court, where religious freedom will be central to the argument along with the issue that the 2015 case of Obergefell v. Hodges was wrongly decided and should be overturned," Liberty Counsel said in a statement.