Mark Pawlowski asks the unromantic question of who keeps the ring, and when, if a couple split
Prior to the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970, a gift of an engagement ring was construed as conditional on the parties’ marriage taking place. In Jacobs v Davis [1917] 2 KB 532, for example, an action was brought to recover a diamond ring given by the plaintiff to the defendant on their engagement. Subsequently, the engagement was broken off. Mr Justice Shearman held that when an engagement ring was given by a man to a woman, there was an implied condition that the ring should be returned if the engagement was broken off. The judge stated, at p533:
‘Though the origin of the engagement ring has been forgotten, it still retains its character of a pledge or something to bind the bargain or contract to marry, and it is given on the understanding that a party who breaks the contract must return it. Whether the ring is a pledge or a conditional gift, the result
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