When a man spends a great deal of money buying an engagement ring for his fiancée, should she give him the ring back when she breaks it off?
That will be the question for the court to decide in a lawsuit recently started in BC:
Engagement rings have been the subject of lawsuits before and the courts appear divided on whether a ring is a gift or symbolic of a contract to get married….View Article
This is an interesting case since it not only involves “family relationship” considerations but also contractual considerations.
Should we look at the engagement ring as part of an agreement to marry, so that if the agreement is not performed, it must be returned?….Or should it be viewed as a gift to the woman who is a girlfriend and soon-to-be wife for saying “yes” so that if she changes her mind, it is still “her” ring?
If you think about it, a woman who says “no” when the marriage proposal is made does not get the ring at all. So why should she keep it if she changes her “yes” to a “no” afterward?
It will be interesting to see what the woman’s defence will be to her ex-fiancé’s claim in the BC case.
What would you do if it happened to you?
