A judge in Manhattan has ruled that a woman must return her $40,000 engagement ring to her ex fiancé.
Rodney Ripley gave the ring to Jennifer Rutten in 2011, but the wedding never occurred, the New York Post reports.
The couple broke up, but Rutten was reluctant to give the ring back when Ripley asked for it. The newspaper described the piece as “a 3-carat cushion-cut stone set in a Tacori ring.”
She and her attorney made several arguments in court, including a claim that the Manhattan court lacked jurisdiction because she’d moved to Milwaukee. Ripley, 54, and Rutten, 50, both lived in New York when they got engaged.
In the end, Ripley was granted a motion for summary judgment. New York law says that if the marriage didn’t occur, the ring has to be given back, according to the Post. Rutten also has the option of paying Ripley the value of the ring.
Justice Robert Reed of New York State Supreme Court wrote: “Here the undisputed facts show that the ring was given in contemplation of marriage and that marriage did not occur. Thus, Ripley is entitled to the return of the ring.”
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