Case: 12-3273

Document: 39

Page: 1

08/31/2012

708035

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

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At a Stated Term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, in the City of New York, on the 31st day of August, two thousand and twelve. Before: Gerard E. Lynch, Circuit Judge. _____________________________________________ Joanne Pedersen, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Office of Personnel Management, et al., Defendants-Appellants, Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the United States House of Representatives, Defendant. _____________________________________________ The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the U.S. House of Representatives (House) has filed a motion asking the Court to recognize the House as a party to this appeal at least for the immediate purpose of filing a response to Plaintiffs-Appellees motion to expedite the appeal. To the extent the House seeks to respond to the motion to expedite, its application is moot, because that motion has been denied by order dated August 28, 2012. To the extent the House seeks broader participation in the case, the motion is unnecessary. The House sought and was granted leave to intervene as a Defendant in the district court for the limited purpose of defending the constitutionality of Section III of the Defense of Marriage Act, Pub. No. L. 104-199, 110 Stat. 2419 (Sept. 21, 1996), codified at 1 U.S.C. 7 (DOMA), from Plaintiffs' contention that DOMA violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendments Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Mot. Intervene, April 21, 2011). In that capacity, the House participated significantly in the litigation, including filing a motion to dismiss the complaint, which was denied, and opposing plaintiffs motion for summary judgment, which was granted. The district court entered judgment consistent with those rulings. That judgment, the subject of the instant appeal, aggrieves the House. To date, the House has not filed a notice of appeal and need not ORDER Docket No. 12-3273

Case: 12-3273

Document: 39

Page: 2

08/31/2012

708035

until 60 days after the entry of judgment. As a losing party defendant in the district court, the House is a full party to the litigation, and has every right to seek reversal of the judgment in this Court by filing a notice of appeal. Because the motion to which the House sought to respond is no longer pending, the immediate reason for the House to be recognized as a party to this appeal prior to filing a notice of appeal no longer exists. Accordingly, the motion is denied as moot. FOR THE COURT: Catherine OHagan Wolfe, Clerk of Court