Overview
- Louisville agreed to pay $800,000 in attorney fees to Chelsey Nelson to end her lawsuit over the city’s Fairness Ordinance.
- In a prior ruling, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton awarded Nelson $1 in nominal damages and said the city could not punish her for stating she would not photograph same-sex weddings.
- The case turned on the Supreme Court’s 303 Creative decision, which says governments cannot force people to create expressive work that carries a message they reject.
- City officials say the settlement closes the litigation but does not repeal the ordinance, which still bans discrimination against LGBTQ people in Louisville.
- The dispute, filed in 2019 and backed by Alliance Defending Freedom, drew a Justice Department brief and split coverage, with conservative outlets calling it a First Amendment win and LGBTQ media noting the ordinance still stands.