Judge rules that man must let ex keep $53,000 engagement ring after “prank” text message break up

• Posted on April 8, 2014April 8, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

He broke up with his fiancée and also her $53,000 ring.

A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled a man who broke up with his future bride via a text message relinquished his right to reclaim her nearly 3-carat engagement ring, reports the Buffalo News.

Louis J. Billittier Jr. sued his former fiancée Christa M. Clark after the 38-year-old nail technician refused to give him back the four-prong diamond engagement ring, the newspaper reported,
He broke off their 14-month relationship in July 2012, leaving Clark incredulous.

“Your doing this through a text message????” she replied.

Ironically, that text is exactly what lost him this case.

Under state law the spouse is entitled to recoup the ring, but not when they imply it’s a gift, ruled State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia last week, according to the newspaper.

“Plus you get a $50,000 parting ring. Enough for a down payment on a house,” the 55-year-old texted next.

The judge wasn’t trying to hear it…

During the November trial Billittier, who broke off the engagement because Clark refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, said he sent that text as a joke, the newspaper reported.

“I was being sarcastic, like a game show host – you get a parting gift,” Billittier said.
But the judge ruled the texts show he meant for the ring to be a gift.

“Parting gifts on game shows usually pale in comparison to the grand prize sought in such contests, unlike here where the ring is at the heart of this lawsuit,” Buscaglia said.

The judge pointed to other text messages Billittier sent after the breakup.

“Keep it up, and I will take back the ring as well,” he texted her.

He sent a final text message on July 31 requesting the ring be returned.

“You by law have to give it back,” he texted. “You’re nowhere near the person I thought you were. You don’t deserve it.”

The judge ruled the text showed he changed his mind and had “giver’s remorse.”

– nydailynews