Kahn v. Shevin - The Facts Of The Case

Since 1941, the state of Florida had a law on its books which gave a $500 annual property tax exemption to women whose husbands had died. However, the statute provided no such tax relief to men whose wives had died. When Mel Kahn, a Florida widower, had his application for a tax exemption denied by the Tax Assessor's Office, he filed suit in circuit court. In his complaint, Kahn alleged that the granting of benefits to widows only violated his constitutional right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. He asked to have the statute declared unconstitutional.