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If you like it, fellas, you should put a ring on it — but remember to actually pop the question first.
A judge has ruled a Long Island woman who broke up with her boyfriend can keep a $10,200 “engagement” ring because her paramour didn’t make a marriage proposal when he handed over the pricey gift.
Unlucky loverboy Joseph Robert Torres, of Yonkers, went to court to snatch back the ring from former gal pal Debbie Lopez, citing a law that lets men retrieve their engagement rings if their wedding plans go bust.
He claimed he proposed to the Valley Stream brunette in an emotional April 2010 moment at Rockefeller Center, when he had the couple’s 6-year-old son hand her the ring.
Lopez, 48, wore it on her left ring finger and even told friends “Maybe, I don’t know yet,” when asked if she was engaged, according to court records.
But after the couple split in 2012, Lopez refused to give up her pricey hardware without a fight. She claimed she didn’t have to surrender the ring because Torres, 52, didn’t actually propose marriage when he gave it to her.
The ring given to Debbie Lopez by her ex-boyfriend. A judge said she could keep it since it was not given in a wedding proposal.
“When he gave it to me, he said it was a gift for being a great woman, a good mother of his child,” Lopez told The Post.
The case went before Nassau County Judge Scott Fairgrieve, who ruled that Lopez was not bound by the law requiring women to return engagement rings because it was “given as a gift and not in contemplation of marriage,” according to an Oct. 14 ruling.
Torres’ White Plains-based attorney, Jasmine Hernandez, said her client was “stunned and disappointed” by the ruling because he thought he was getting engaged.
“He asked [her] to marry him, and the defendant said absolutely,” Hernandez stated in court papers.
Lopez said she was also surprised that her son’s father fought so hard for the ring. “Our relationship didn’t work out, [and] he decided to sue me for the ring,” she said. “I’m like, I don’t understand this, the whole idea was I didn’t want to bother with the ring.”
It depends who broke with who. If it's the guy, it's luck if the girl returns it. I'd probably suggest the girl keeps it and sells it for money.
If it's the girl, she should return it.
And this is why proposals are best done with witnesses like in an NBA halftime break or in a restaurant. Or if no witnesses, at least videotape it. There has to be an understanding to the woman that the proposal and the taking of the ring represents the taking of the guy for marriage (acceptance). If she breaks her acceptance, she should return it.
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Im not sure how someone gets an engagement ring with no one bothering to ask for a marriage, but whatever - the judge ruled and that's that, unless he thinks its worth appealing the case over (which monetarily, it isnt).
Another tip for expensive token of love buyers - do not give the ring on any holiday, nor on her birthday.
Not even Valentine's Day. The attachment of a holiday to the event may seem romantic, but also files the ring into the random-gift category as well.
"I wanted to propose to her on her birthday. It seemed romantic at the time."
"What did you get her for her birthday?"
"I only gave her the engagement ring on her birthday"
"Okay. It was your birthday gift then also. Case dismissed." *bangs gavel*
Idk why she would be proud to have the story in the post though...the article says she told the judge she didnt want to bother with the ring. What could she have meant by that?? *ponders*
THats a lesson that guys should not be buying expensive rings. Judges are sending very clear messages to men that they should not be signing marriage licences, buying expensive rings or having kids.
Most guys are hearing the message that is being broadcast loud and clear but there are still some idiots out there. Someone has to keep these judges employed lol.
THats a lesson that guys should not be buying expensive rings. Judges are sending very clear messages to men that they should not be signing marriage licences, buying expensive rings or having kids.
Most guys are hearing the message that is being broadcast loud and clear but there are still some idiots out there. Someone has to keep these judges employed lol.
Judges are making determinations about property rights, the rest is your subjective interpretation slanted to suit your agenda.
The headline is misleading (sort of, since engagement was in quotes). In New York, if an engagement is broken off, the woman has to return the ring by law. This case was questioning if the ring was an engagement ring or a gift for something else. The judge ruled it was a gift. I don't know why, the story doesn't say. Maybe she had witnesses or whatever... or maybe even the judge made a bad call. It's hard to say without more info.
I am curious why she broke things off. They've been together for over 6 years if they have a 6-year-old child together. Doesn't seem like it would be a lighthearted decision to throw it all away after they already had a commitment of sorts. Who knows, she could be a flake or he could be a flake. We just don't know.
Oh, and I agree with everyone who said that's a stupid amount of money to spend on a hunk of metal and a bunch of old rocks.
Don't ever give something (material) with the expectation of getting something back unless there is a paper contract involved.
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