A man who broke off his engagement without justification has been ordered by a civil court to pay €14,408 in damages to the parents of his former fiancée.

Parents of the bride had paid for the wedding dresses, invitation cards, souvenirs, catering, the hiring of chauffeur-driven vehicles as well as music and flower arrangements. The parents of the bride had also forked out for a deposit on the wedding reception venue booking. 

The couple's four-year relationship came to an end just one month before their September 2014 wedding day, when Cana officials told the bride-to-be that her 40-year-old fiancé had confided to a marriage counsellor that he could not face marriage.

The confession came after the would-be groom had already postponed the wedding date once, blaming longer working hours as a result of a new job. 

The parents of the jilted fiancée subsequently filed a civil suit claiming that they had incurred material damages when, after spending over €16,000 on wedding preparations, all their plans had ended up in smoke.

The court, presided by Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, observed that four vital factors had to be proved for the successful outcome of the claim for damages.

Both parties did not contest that the berothal existed and that they were both legally capable of entering into the engagement. 

It was noted that the couple had completed their pre-nuptial enquiry with their respective parish priests. It was only later that the man had confessed that he could not face up to the commitment of marriage.

The court remarked that the man had manifested "great irresponsibility and immaturity" when he first requested a postponement just weeks before the June date and then failed to honour the ultimate commitment, causing his fiancée a terrible "trauma."

The man did not even deny in court that his future in-laws had footed all the bills, only claiming that the amount was "exorbitant."

The court, after hearing the testimony of all parties involved and after noting that the payments were supported by valid receipts, declared that the man had indeed caused the plaintiffs damages when he broke off the engagement without just cause. The court ordered him to pay €14,408 by way of material damages, together with accrued interest and 9/10 of expenses related to the suit.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.