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Guy Who Dumped Fiancee By Text Can't Get Back $53K Engagement Ring
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 7, 2014
Modified Apr 7, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 7, 2014
Modified Apr 7, 2014
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An upstate man's decision to dump his future bride by text message has proven expensive. When Christa Clark replied, "Your doing this through a text message????", the response she got from Louis Billittier Jr. was, "Plus you get a $50,000 parting ring. Enough for a down payment on a house."
The dickish response convinced NY State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia that the ring wasn't part of the marriage deal. According to the Buffalo News, "The state’s established law normally sides with would-be grooms. They have a legal right to claim the ring back if there is no marriage, even if the groom calls off the wedding... Buscaglia called Billittier’s description of the ring as a 'parting ring' an indication the ring had become a gift that no longer involved a contract for marriage."
There were other texts from Billittier demanding the ring back, as well as payment for wedding-related costs, including one that said, "You by law have to give it back. You’re nowhere near the person I thought you were. You don’t deserve it." But Justice Buscaglia ruled, "Changing his mind was 'giver’s remorse.' Many gifts are given for reasons that sour with the passage of time... Once a gift is given, it is irrevocable."
The 2.97-carat diamond ring is worth $53,000.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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