Topeka ? The Kansas Department of Revenue has asked a state judge to dismiss a lawsuit involving the tax filing status of same-sex married couples, saying the issue is now moot, according to a Lawrence attorney involved in the case.

David Brown, who represents two Kansas couples who were suing the department, said the motion was filed late Thursday in Shawnee County District Court.

“Practically speaking, the state’s filing (Thursday) puts an end to my clients’ nearly two-year fight for marriage equality,” Brown said in an email to the Journal-World. “I am happy that they now receive the recognition as married persons that other married couples have enjoyed.”

The department’s motion came one day after Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office filed similar documents in a federal lawsuit in Kansas City, Kan.

In 2013, the department issued a notice that limited the ability to file joint tax returns only to married couples of the opposite sex, even if a same-sex couple had been legally married in another state where such marriages were allowed.

That was based on a Kansas constitutional amendment, adopted in 2005, that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman only.

Soon after the department made its policy, Brown filed a lawsuit in Shawnee County on behalf of two same-sex couples who’d been legally married in other states.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down such state-based bans, making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

On Wednesday, the Department of Revenue said in its filing that it rescinded that 2013 notice. It is now marked on the department’s website as, “Removed — no longer valid.”

As of Friday afternoon, Judge Frank Theis, who is hearing the case, had not issued an order of dismissal. But Brown said he expected one to be issued soon.

He said his only regret was that it took the state so long.

“Unfortunately, it should never have taken this long for the state to act appropriately,” he said. “As I understand it, the state spent some $100,000 to fight what everyone recognized was a losing battle. In a time when Kansas can’t raise funds necessary for critical services and education, it was sinful to allocate taxpayer funds to support the state’s unlawful discrimination.”

He said it is possible that many same-sex couples who were denied the right to file joint tax returns can now go back and file amended returns for those years when they were denied.

“It may not be economically wise for some couples to do that, but for others it might result in an additional refund,” Brown said.

Department of Revenue spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda said Kansas generally allows taxpayers to file amended returns going back three years. But she said the question of whether same-sex couples can do that is still under review.