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Lawsuit Over Outing of Gay Saudi Residents by Lufthansa in Saudi Arabia Can Proceed

Eugene Volokh | 8.31.2026 8:01 AM

[1.] First, the facts from an earlier decision in Doe v. Deutsche Lufthansa AG:

John Doe and Robert Roe are a gay couple who have been in a "committed, but discreet," relationship for 33 years, and who were married in California in 2013. Doe is a United States citizen and California resident who lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia most of the year, where he works for a company as legal counsel. Roe is a Saudi Arabian citizen who, until May 2021, was living full-time in Riyadh and working as a result estate [real estate? -EV] investor. Since 1989, Doe and Roe lived together in Saudi Arabia, but they were forced to keep their relationship and sexual orientation hidden because homosexuality has been treated as a capital offense in Saudi Arabia. "Living very carefully, they successfully kept their 33-year relationship a secret from the government, strangers, employers, friends, and family, alike."

In 2021, Doe and Roe were flying on Lufthansa from Riyadh to San Francisco. For complicated reasons related to U.S. COVID-related travel rules, Doe and Roe ended up having to disclose to a senior Lufthansa employee at Riyadh airport (Jamshed) that they were married under U.S. law, and the employee allegedly said that publicly; they also allege that the information about the marriage was conveyed to Saudi authorities.

[2.] Now, Judge Susan Illston's analysis from this past Friday as to why California law should apply to the case:

Saudi Arabian law is based on religious Sharia law and … homosexuality is a crime in Saudia Arabia, punishable in various ways including imprisonment and the death penalty, … [so] plaintiffs have no recourse under Saudi Arabian law…. In contrast, California's strong public policy supporting gay rights and gay marriage, and prohibiting discrimination based upon sexual orientation, is reflected in the California Constitution, numerous California statutes, and decisions by the California Supreme Court….

Lufthansa contends........

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