When Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, allegedly expelled a student because of her same-sex marriage, an attorney in Davis Wright Tremaine's Portland office signed on to the complaint, because he thought not many lawyers besides him would take on such a case.

Paul Southwick, who was named one of the 40 Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2013, said it can be hard for people like his client, Joanna Maxon, to find a lawyer.

"A lot of the mainstream LGBTQ rights organizations often won't represent queer or trans students who have been discriminated against by a religious institution," he said. "I think a lot of the mainstream groups were pushing for that recognition in public spaces, for public colleges and universities, and now that's pretty much a done deal. But as to how those laws apply to religiously-affiliated institutions that's a different story."

Southwick also has a personal connection with the case, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

"I attended an institution like this as a gay person, so I have my own history and understanding on the impact these things have," he said.

Southwick said Fuller's community is similar to George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, the religiously-affiliated school he graduated from in 2005. "It tends to be evangelical but much more progressive in terms of rights for minorities, women, immigration, racial justice—those kinds of issues," he said. "So it's kind of a hard place for someone who's queer, because you tend to think, they'll be affirming of me, too; they'll be inclusive of me too, and then you find out that they're not."

Fuller kicked Maxon out of her graduate program after the administration found out about her marriage to wife Tonya Minton through her 2016 tax returns, according to the complaint. She asserts the school lulled her into a "false sense of safety" because it encourages diversity. Professors and students who knew about her same-sex relationship welcomed her into the community before the administration treated her like "a threat and a social pariah," according to the complaint.

Based on the assertion that the majority of the school's funding comes from student loans backed by the federal government and Maxon herself used federal funding to pay for tuition, she alleges the institution violated Title IX of the Education Amendments and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. She's also asking for compensatory damages of at least $75,000 for breach of contract and $500,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Southwick said this case could be the next trailblazing LGBTQ suit, because even though courts have applied Title IX to protect transgender and queer students, there hasn't yet been a case yet filed by a student who faced discrimination from a religious education institution specifically because of their same same-sex marriage. "This will be the first case filed on behalf of a wife and mother of two who was kicked out for no other reason than her same-sex marriage," he said. "I think it could set a precedent for institutions that are religiously affiliated and enroll LGBTQ people."

Fuller's policies state that the school does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation but that it "does lawfully discriminate on the basis of sexual conduct that violates its biblically based Community Standard Statement on Sexual Standards."

Yet, Maxon argues the school had no evidence of any prohibited "homosexual forms of explicit sexual conduct."

A representative for Fuller said the school was unable to comment on specifics regarding anything related to a Fuller student. "As a historically multi-denominational seminary and a convening place for civil dialogue—with a commitment to academic freedom—we strive to serve the global Christian church in its various perspectives," a spokesperson for the institution said. "We remain committed to these relationships in all their complexities while maintaining community standards and a statement of faith that apply to various areas of beliefs and behavior. Students are informed of and explicitly agree to abide by these standards when applying to the institution."

Maxon's case isn't the first time Southwick has gone up against a religious institution. He exclusively represents students who claim discrimination by their religiously affiliated schools, "because they really don't have anywhere else to turn," he said. He even sued his alma mater George Fox in a case where a transgender student alleged housing discrimination. Southwick said it's a timely issue, because increasingly more LGBTQ students will be getting married since legalized same-sex marriage has been the law of the land.

"If an institution is religious and wants to discriminate, in my view, they shouldn't be taking public money to do that," he said.