COURT DENIES GAY BENEFITS:

A New York man who sought workers’ compensation benefits after his same-sex partner of more than 20 years was killed in an airplane crash has been denied his claim. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York upheld a ruling by the Workers Compensation Board that William S. Valentine, the New York City registered domestic partner of Joe Lopes, was not entitled to benefits after Lopes, a flight attendant for American Airlines, was killed in a November 2001 plane crash.

Valentine maintained that he was entitled to spousal benefits under state workers’ compensation law because he was the domestic partner of Lopes. But the appeals court upheld a 2003 Workers’ Compensation Board decision and ruled that Valentine was not Lopes’ legal spouse as required under workers’ compensation statutes. “Domestic partners do not fall within the definition of surviving spouse under workers’ compensation law,” Justice Anthony T. Kane stated in his decision.