Court to decide who gets to keep the $100,000 ring when love goes pear-shaped

1 week ago 6

Ever wonderment who is legally entitled to an engagement ringing erstwhile emotion sours?

The rules of engagement are astir to beryllium tested successful the County Court of Victoria, wherever builder Constantinos Hatzis is demanding his erstwhile fiancee Anastasia Soulios instrumentality a two-carat diamond ringing and different jewellery worthy much than $100,000.

Con Hatzis and erstwhile fiancee Anastasia Soulios.

However, Soulios has claimed successful defence documents that Hatzis was unfaithful during their two-year narration and repeatedly subjected her to abuse, which absolves her of immoderate ineligible work to manus backmost the ring.

Soulios has besides made a counter-claim against Hatzis to instrumentality a $9500 TAG Heuer ticker she claims she gave to him successful July 2022 arsenic an “engagement acquisition successful contemplation of marriage”.

A County Court justice could yet beryllium required to resoluteness the bitter stoush, unless the estranged mates tin settee the quality earlier trial.

On February 14, Hatzis filed a writ successful the County Court alleging helium began a narration with Soulios successful aboriginal 2020, earlier proposing successful March 2022.

Hatzis claims to person presented his aboriginal bride with the “diamond pear halo ring”, on with diamond earrings and a bracelet, which were valued astatine $101,035, according to the writ.

“Hatzis gave Soulios the goods connected the implied information that Soulios would support them safely and instrumentality them to Hatzis connected request successful the lawsuit they did not marry,” the writ states.

He claims the narration ended successful April 2022, earlier a typical of Soulios informed him successful July 2023 that the engagement ringing and different jewellery would not beryllium returned.

But Soulios, according to her connection of defence, has a antithetic mentation of events, and insists she is entitled to the jewellery.

Con Hatzis and the ticker helium got arsenic an engagement gift.

She alleges successful tribunal documents that the mates resumed their narration successful May 2022, but she ended the engagement 3 months aboriginal due to the fact that of Hatzis’ repeated infidelity during their relationship.

“The plaintiff is not entitled to request the instrumentality of the engagement ringing arsenic the non-fulfillment of the statement to wed was caused by the plaintiff ... and that helium cannot trust upon his ain behaviour to kick of the non-fulfilment of the information of marriage,” according to a defence connection filed by Soulios’ lawyer.

Soulios claims the bracelet and earrings were unconditional gifts that she received connected Christmas Day 2021, which was respective months earlier Hatzis’ proposal.

She is besides demanding the instrumentality of a $9500 TAG Heuer watch, which she claims successful tribunal documents was fixed to Hatzis arsenic an engagement gift, and was conditional connected marriage.

Soulios declined to remark erstwhile contacted by this masthead.

Hatzis denied helium had ever been successful an matter oregon abused Soulios portion they were engaged. He claimed his erstwhile woman would vouch for his fidelity successful court.

“I’ve been joined for 20 years and my (former) woman volition attest that I was ne'er unfaithful,” Hatzis said.

“It volition each travel retired successful court,” helium said.

While uncommon, ineligible feuds implicit engagement rings are not unprecedented.

In 2007, NSW Supreme Court Justice Rex Smart ordered Vicky Papathanasopoulos to wage her erstwhile fiance Andrew Vacopoulos $15,000, aft her begetter tossed the ringing into a rubbish bin erstwhile the engagement was called off.

Justice Smart ruled that Papathanasopoulos was the impermanent holder of a conditional acquisition and the ringing would lone go her spot aft their marriage.

However, Smart identified circumstances wherever the recipient of an engagement ringing whitethorn not beryllium required to manus it backmost – adjacent erstwhile they called disconnected the wedding.

“There whitethorn beryllium repudiatory behaviour connected the man’s part, for example, acts of unit towards the woman, oregon having a dependable and intersexual narration with different woman. In specified circumstances, the pistillate tin astir apt support the ring,” Smart said successful his judgement.

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