Calif. appeals court rules in domestic partners case

A Santa Ana appeals court says people who mistakenly believe they are registered as domestic partners in California have the same rights as those who fulfilled terms of the state's Domestic Partner Act.

A panel of the state 4th District Court of Appeals ruled today that there is "no sound reason" to deprive persons of their rights if they "reasonably believed" they had registered as domestic partners. That reverses an Orange County court ruling which denied a gay man's 2006 petition to dissolve a domestic partnership. Calif. appeals court rules in domestic partners case