A federal appeals court has ruled that Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who denied marriage licenses to a same-sex couple because she believed their relationship was immoral, could be held individually liable for her refusal.

Davis, formerly an employee of Rowan County, Kentucky, ignited controversy with her actions after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the right to same-sex marriage. She was sued by the couple, David Ermold and David Moore, but in defense claimed that she was immune from liability both as a government employee and as an individual.