A Georgia man is finding the cost of a broken promise to be quite high.
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The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Christopher Kelley must pay $50,000 for promising he would marry Melissa Cooper and then cheating on her twice, Courthouse News Service reported. Kelley was accused of a breach of promise, though the man argues he never said the words, “Will you marry me?” to his fiancée, Cooper.
Kelley proposed to Cooper Dec. 23, 2004 and gave her a ring worth $10,000, court documents show. She said yes and the couple moved into a new house together. Cooper and Kelley had a child together, and she left her job to raise their child and one she had from a previous relationship.
But after the proposal, Kelley and Cooper’s relationship began to sour.
Cooper learned that Kelley had been in a long-term relationship with another women that started before he proposed to Cooper. Though she ultimately confronted him, Cooper decided to remain loyal to her finance “because of his pledges not to see the other woman again and his promises thereafter to marry Cooper,” court documents state.
But Kelley failed to uphold his end of the bargain and was caught in a relationship with another woman in April 2011. Kelley said he wanted to be with that woman instead and asked Cooper and the two children to move out.
In response, Cooper filed a lawsuit against her former fiancé for fraud and breach of contract to marry. The Coweta County Superior Court ruled in her favor, awarding her $50,000.
Kelley appealed, stating, “We never had very many discussions around marriage. I personally never initiated any conversations around marriage.”
But the Georgia Court of Appeals disagreed and ruled to uphold the Superior Court’s decision, saying the promise to marry is enforceable and their co-habitation both before and after the proposal solidifies the promise the marry.
Kelley, though, argued to the contrary.
“I never initiated the concept of marriage with her, outside of giving her that ring,” court filings state. “I never said the words, ‘will you marry me’ to her.”
Kelley does not yet know if he plans to challenge the state appeals court’s ruling.
h/t Mediaiate
