A New Jersey appeals court ruled that the nonbiological mother in a same-sex couple can sue for bystander negligent infliction of emotional distress in connection with the death of a 2-year-old Trenton girl in a horrific accident.

When Portee v. Jaffe was decided decades ago, the Appellate Division said, “The notion of same-sex couples and their children constituting a ‘familial relationship’ worthy of legal recognition was considered by a significant number of our fellow citizens as socially and morally repugnant and legally absurd.