The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has overturned a 65-year-old rule that required judges to identify the wronged partner and give them an engagement ring when breaking up.
“More than 60 years ago, we recognized that prenuptial rings are generally understood to be conditional gifts, allowing the donor to take back the ring after an engagement fails, but The court held that this is limited to cases where there is 'no negligence'. , According to the Boston Globe. “We now join the modern trend of abolishing the concept of negligence, which has been adopted by the majority of jurisdictions that have considered this issue.”
The new ruling says engagement rings must be returned to their purchasers “regardless of whether they were at fault.”
Earlier this year, Bruce Johnson sued his ex-fiancée, Caroline Settino, over who should keep his $70,000 Tiffany engagement ring. Under the ruling, Settino must return the ring Johnson gave him in 2017, but a Plymouth Superior Court judge previously held that Johnson was at fault for ending their relationship after Johnson falsely accused Settino of infidelity. Even though it was acknowledged that it was.
most states Although it considers engagement rings to be “conditional gifts,” Massachusetts is now joining in returning the gifts to donors.
Stephanie Taverna, Johnson's lawyer, said the ruling abolished a legal standard that required couples to reveal intimate details about their personal relationships.
“They removed the errors and modernized the law in the right direction,” she says. “That's why this is an important decision, because it will help parties resolve their issues without litigation, just as the no-fault divorce law was enacted in 1975.”
