Abstract
In Lawrence v Gallagher, the issue as to what constitutes an equitable division of assets in the event of civil partnership dissolution arose for the first time. It had been hoped that the case would mark a break away from the heavy reliance upon heteronormativity that had been characteristic of the previous ancillary relief case law. However, it is argued here that what we see within the judgment is the Court of Appeal presenting the problem (and, so, the parties) in Lawrence so as to ‘fit’ within the pre-existing framework. Even at this early stage, it seems that legal actors are approaching civil partnerships on the basis of gendered assumptions and expectations. There is a need to raise awareness of this inability to get past ideas about heteronormativity, and to highlight their possible incompatibility with the lives of lesbian and gay couples, before their radical potential is lost.
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Notes
See White v White [2001] 1 AC 596.
Ibid at 605, per Lord Nicholls.
Miller v Miller; McFarlane v McFarlane [2006] 2 AC 618 at 632, per Lord Nicholls.
Lawrence v Gallagher [2012] 1 FCR 557 at 566.
Ibid at 564.
Ibid at 567.
B v B [2010] 2 FLR 1214.
Radmacher v Granatino [2011] 1 AC 534.
Lawrence v Gallagher [2012] 1 FCR 557 at 560 per Lord Justice Thorpe.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to Rosie Harding and the anonymous reviewer for their comments on earlier drafts of this case note.
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Bendall, C. A Break Away from the (Hetero)norm?: Lawrence v Gallagher [2012] 1 FCR 557; [2012] EWCA Civ 394. Fem Leg Stud 21, 303–310 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-013-9247-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-013-9247-8