Court Rules That Vasectomy And Other Engagement Gifts Are Not Recoverable In Case Of A Split

Let’s just hope that this poor bastard is doing this for the right reasons.

By The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — Lost love carries no refund, even if you have a receipt. The Utah Court of Appeals rejected an ex-fiance’s request to recover thousands of dollars spent during his engagement on a vasectomy, a cruise to Alaska, a trip to France and other purchases.

Layne D. Hess sued Jody Johnston after she returned an engagement ring to him in April 2005 and called off a wedding planned for that summer.

Hess accused her of unjust enrichment and breach of contract, claiming he spent the money because of their upcoming marriage.

“Hess urges this court to adopt the position that any gift given during the engagement period carries an implied condition of marriage. We decline to do so,” the appeals court said last week in upholding a lower court’s ruling.

Tango’s Take
There are no guarantees in life. We like how the judge referred to engagement as a ‘test period’. Gifts given can’t be recovered. It was good that Jody Johnston gave back the ring. It’s pretty standard etiquette for the woman to give back the ring if she does the breaking up. So it’s good that he didn’t have to demand it. The article doesn’t mention any actual wedding expenses, so Layne Hess at least didn’t have to worry about that money. This case likely could have gone either way. In the UK, they have begun granting marriage-like rights to unmarried couples. We wonder how this would have shaken out there. Furthermore, while Johnston won’t be reimbursing Hess for the trips, we would imagine that his vasectomy allowed them to have oodles of unprotected intercourse and can you really put a price on that?

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