Divorce is Divorce is Divorce.Civil Partnerships Identical Rights as Marriage.

Landmark case enshrines civil partnership as 'identical' to marriage.

Civil partners have “identical” rights to husbands and wives, three senior judges established yesterday as they settled the first multi-million pound homosexual split to come before the courts.

Don Gallagher, a West End actor, saw his £1.7 million “divorce” settlement from Peter Lawrence, a wealthy City analyst, reduced by almost £300,000 at the Court of Appeal. But the performer, who starred in the musical of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, walked away with an overall package worth almost £1.5 million, more than twice what his former partner had originally proposed.

The couple separated in 2008 after an 11-year relationship, which had been formalised as a civil partnership. Most of their income came from Mr Lawrence’s earnings as an analyst at J P Morgan, while Mr Gallagher combined his acting work with a “home making” role, the court heard. They shared a flat in London’s Docklands and a cottage in Sussex which Mr Gallagher furnished and describes as his “pride and joy”. He now lives there while Mr Lawrence kept the London flat after they separated.

But the dispute hinged on the fact that Mr Lawrence owned the London flat before the couple met. He initially proposed giving his former partner just 15 per cent of their £4 million joint assets. But a judge awarded Mr Gallagher almost half - or £1.7 million - including the cottage, a pension pot and a lump sum of almost £580,000. Yesterday, after an appeal by Mr Lawrence, the lump sum was reduced to give greater weight to the original value of the London flat.

Lord Justice Thorpe, sitting with Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Ryder, said there had been "no rationality" to the higher lump sum. Acknowledging that the case was a legal first, he made clear that the same principles should apply as in a heterosexual divorce. “This is said to be the first substantial appeal concerning financial orders made following the dissolution of a civil partnership," he said. "The fact that the claim arises from the dissolution of a civil partnership rather than a marriage is of little moment since it is common ground that the language of … the Civil Partnership Act 2004 is identical to the language of … the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.”

Jonathan West, head of family law at the legal firm Prolegal, said: “This is a useful case particularly when considering the recent proposals to allow gay marriage. It should serve as a salutary lesson that anyone considering a civil partnership or gay marriage must understand what they are getting into … there should be no discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and this case enshrines that principle.”

But Mr Gallagher’s lawyer, James Ferguson, of Boodle Hatfield, said: “Although the Court of Appeal made it clear that civil partnership dissolution cases should be treated in exactly the same way as divorces, it is questionable whether the outcome would have been the same if the facts had been transposed to an 11.7 year heterosexual marriage.”

Mr Gallagher added: “I am saddened by this case. Peter and I had spent more than 11 happy years together and achieved a great deal. It has been difficult on me and my family as I have had to borrow money to survive and to finance this court action.”