The Supreme Court of Rhode Island, where same-sex couples are not allowed to get married, ruled this week that they are not allowed to get divorced either. State residents Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers married three years ago in neighboring Massachusetts. When they filed for divorce in their home state last year, the petition was denied, because state law defines marriage—and thus divorce—as being between a man and a woman. The couple are now officially trapped in their marriage, unless they establish residency in Massachusetts. “They are in legal limbo,” said Louis Pulner, a lawyer for Chambers.
A North Carolina woman who bought a plot of land at the bottom of a lake is now suing local authorities to have the land drained. Kristin Wallace bought the eight-acre plot at the bottom of Lake Lynn, which the state created in the 1970s as part of a flood-control program. Wallace argues that her new purchase would be more valuable if drained. The land is “extremely valuable to me,” Wallace said. “Dry.” The county has so far rejected Wallace’s claim, saying that she bought the land “as is.”
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