(WKYT) – A new lawsuit filed in Rowan Circuit Court accuses former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis of transferring inherited property to family members to avoid paying a civil rights judgment to David Ermold and David Moore, the same-sex couple she refused to issue a marriage license to in 2015.
Combined with attorney fees, Davis owes more than $560,000 under the civil rights judgment. The lawsuit also claims Davis has yet to pay any of the amount ordered.
Property transfers at issue
Attorneys for Ermold and Moore say that after Davis’ mother died in 2025, Davis inherited land and transferred the deeds of that property to other family members. The lawsuit claims the transfers were made to conceal her assets.
Attorney Michael J. Gartland said there are three parcels of land in question. Deed certificates list the total value of those parcels at more than $400,000.
Gartland cited a fraudulent conveyance statute, which prohibits transferring property to avoid paying existing claims against you. He said the transfers took place before the couple won the judgment.
“Now we only found out about it in December of 2025 — Kim Davis answered sworn statement interrogatory written questions — we asked her to identify all transfers in the last five years that were worth more than two thousand dollars and she wrote none — that turned out to be a false statement because we have copies of the deeds by which she conveyed these properties just eight or nine months earlier,” Gartland said.
Attorney’s assessment
Gartland said he expects the property transfers to be reversed.
“This is a slam dunk as far as I’m concerned — these transfers will get undone and it will be as if her brother and her own them again — and we already filed a judgment lien and so our lien will attach once these transfers are undone — we will have a lien on these three properties and we will move to settle to get our clients paid,” Gartland said.
Gartland said the couple supports the filing.
“They are in favor of filing this lawsuit because this was the first real opportunity to go after her assets,” Gartland said.
Davis response
In a statement, the Liberty Counsel — which provided legal representation for Davis at one time but does not currently — said Davis provided answers and documents in response to questions from the plaintiffs and answered those truthfully.