Vasquez v. Hawthorne

Joseph Hawthorne, appointed personal representative for the intestate estate of Robert Schwerzler, appeals the summary judgment award of Schwerzler’s estate in its entirety to Frank Vasquez, a person who claims to have been in a meretricious relationship with Schwerzler. We hold that a meretricious relationship is a quasi-marital relationship, and because persons of the same sex may not be legally married, a meretricious relationship cannot exist between members of the same sex. We therefore reverse.

Vasquez and Schwerzler lived together from 1967 to 1995, with the exception of two years…