The case was still pending in the Fifth Circuit when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

[3] The district judge heard oral arguments on February 12, 2014, forecasting that the issue of same-sex marriage "will make its way to the Supreme Court".

He ruled that the state has "failed to identify any rational, much less a compelling, reason that is served by denying same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry".

[14] The case and the motion to lift the stay was still pending in the Fifth Circuit when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

[16] Pursuant to the Fifth Circuit's order, the district court entered a final judgment on July 7, 2015, permanently enjoining the State of Texas from enforcing any laws prohibiting any same-sex marriage.

Subsequently, in December 2015, the district court awarded more than $605,000 in legal fees and costs to the plaintiffs' law firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

[18] The plaintiffs, Mark Phariss and Vic Holmes, were later married on November 21, 2015, in Frisco, Texas, at the Westin Stonebriar Hotel after more than 18 years together by former Congressman Charles A.