HALIFAX — A woman who broke up with her fiance after a fight over
wedding expenses can keep the engagement ring, a Halifax adjudicator has
ruled.
Devin Sherrington had sued his would-be bride, Lauren Arbuckle, in
small claims court for the 3.25 carat diamond ring, worth as much as
$19,000.
Sherrington, a personal trainer, and Arbuckle, a hairstylist and
make-up artist, had planned to marry in 2016. But he postponed the
wedding amid arguments over its cost, small claims adjudicator Gregg
Knudsen said in a written ruling released Wednesday.
“Mr. Sherrington testified that the wedding budget was becoming a
very contentious issue. He sought to err on the less expensive side
while Ms. Arbuckle preferred a more lavish affair. As a result of the
disagreement and the strain it was having on their relationship, Mr.
Sherrington suggested they postpone the wedding,” said Knudsen.
“Ms. Arbuckle did not agree with that idea at all.”
Arbuckle — who texts showed had originally wanted to elope but
Sherrington wanted “a party” — then ended the relationship altogether,
Knudsen said.
Knudsen said it wasn’t Arbuckle who broke the engagement — and that was the key issue in deciding who keeps the ring.
“I find the postponement was an indefinite postponement, sufficient
to treat the engagement as over. Ms. Arbuckle may have ended the
relationship but Mr. Sherrington ended the engagement,” said Knudsen.
“It is the conditional aspect of the gift, the marriage or the intent
to marry, which is the critical issue. The determination of the
entitlement to the engagement ring is based upon who broke off the
engagement and who didn’t.”
In the end, Knudsen said text messages exchanged by the two showed Sherrington had told Arbuckle she could keep the ring anyway.
The adjudicator did, however, order Arbuckle to pay Sherrington
$2,914 for her share of a trip to Mexico they had taken together.
The battle over the ring may ultimately be moot: Arbuckle has filed
for bankruptcy, so the ring is in the possession of the trustee in
bankruptcy.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/engagement-ring-etiquette-1.4161622
No comments:
Post a Comment