ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) _ Maryland's highest court is scheduled to hear a case that could set a statewide precedent for same-sex divorce even before a gay marriage law takes effect.

The Baltimore Sun (http://bsun.md/FOA01K ) reports Maryland's Court of Appeals will hear the case next month of Jessica Port and Virginia Anne Cowan. The women were married in a California courthouse in 2008 when gay marriage was legal and returned home to Washington.

Two years later, Port filed for divorce in Maryland where she bought a home. A Prince George's County judge denied the divorce petition saying the women's marriage wasn't valid.

A few other same-sex divorces have been granted in Maryland. Judges in Baltimore and Prince George's and Calvert counties have granted divorces.

A ruling by Maryland's highest court could set a statewide standard.