Mr. Smay never had authorization, consent or permission from me or my wife to file a lawsuit on our behalf. – Amy N. Fowler

SALT LAKE CITY — A lesbian couple who married last week want a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit against the state and the LDS Church that listed their names without their knowledge or permission.

Amy N. Fowler, an attorney, says she and Pidge Winburn never talked to the lawyer who filed the $10 million class-action lawsuit, alleging they were "denied freedom of religion and the right to marry."

The couple, who were married Dec. 23, filed a motion in U.S. District Court to dismiss the case Tuesday.

Salt Lake attorney E. Craig Smay filed the lawsuit Dec. 27, listing Fowler and Winburn as the plaintiffs. The lawsuit says there could be as many as 500 plaintiffs and demands each of them receive at least $25,000 in damages.

Smay did not respond to a telephone message or email for comment.

"Mr. Smay never had authorization, consent or permission from me or my wife to file a lawsuit on our behalf," Fowler wrote in a court declaration.

Fowler and Winburn were featured in a Christmas Day story in the Salt Lake Tribune. Fowler said she didn't know about the lawsuit until she received a call from a reporter two days later. She said she believes Smay got their names from the news article.

Fowler said she immediately called Smay, but he didn't answer. He also did not respond to phone calls or emails on Monday, she said.

"I am very disappointed in your actions and will be filing a formal bar complaint against you," she wrote in the email attached to he court declaration.

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