News
Man Wins Settlement After Being Denied Access To Dying Partner
An elderly gay man from California has won a $600,000 (£388,144) settlement after he was barred from seeing his dying partner in hospital.
Clay Greene, 78, of Guerneville claimed that Sonoma County’s
Public Guardian programme discriminated against him because he is gay.
While he and partner Harold Scull, 88, were not married or civil partners,
the couple had been together for nearly 20 years. They had medical
declarations, powers of attorney, and signed wills which named them as spouses.
In addition, Mr Greene claimed that social workers forced him into a nursing
home and sold the couple's private property.
Representing the county, attorney Greg Spaulding accepted the county had
made mistakes in selling his property but denied Mr Greene had been
discriminated against.
Associated Press reported that Spaulding said Greene had been barred from
seeing his partner because Scull had told authorities that Mr Greene had
beaten and threatened to kill him. However, there was no formal complaint lodged.
The attorney added, the law states the county may sell possessions up to
$5,000 to cover medical costs but an auction of the couple's property raised
more than $25,000. However, he said that the error had led to revised policies.
To avoid paying out any more money, Mr Spaulding said the county settled the
case.
Representing Mr Greene, Amy Todd-Gher of the National Center
for Lesbian Rights, said: "What Clay and Harold lost can never be
replaced, but this settlement brings a measure of justice to their story”.
She added: "Even as we celebrate this victory, we are deeply troubled
that the County of Sonoma continues to refuse to take responsibility for
their egregious misconduct and violations of the law in this case and we urge
every citizen of Sonoma
County to demand more
oversight of the Public Guardian's office. They need to be watched”.
