Follow up: ACLU cashes in on gay marriage suit fees; Judge awards Constitutional Initiative 416 opponents legal fees Lincoln Journal Star Us District Court Judge Joe Battaillon this week ordered the state of Nebraska to pay $156,960 in attorney fees to lawyers who challenged the state's gay marriage ban, pending appeal to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. "We expect the state to cut us a check, but not just yet," Tim Butz, executive director of the Nebraska American Civil Liberties Union, said Tuesday. Bataillon in May ruled an amendment passed by Nebraska voters in 2000 banning gay marriages was unconstitutional because it restricted the right of gay and lesbian people to seek policy changes through government officials. Nebraska has appealed the ruling to the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, including the fee award.ACLU Butz said Tuesday attorneys for the plaintiffs received the amount of legal fees they requested. He said the state did not contest the amount.Nebraska ACLU and the New York-based Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund represented a group of plaintiffs who challenged the amendment in a 2003 federal lawsuit. The amendment was approved by 70 percent of Nebraska voters.