James Sloan said:
In Tennessee, what existing laws relate to settlement of debts by each party if a marriage engagement is cancelled. Specifically, what responsibility does the man have to the woman's family for partial reimbursements related to lost deposits and outlay of bridesmaid's dresses, etc...
My response:
There are no laws specific to this subject. Rather, this subject relies upon general principles of contract law.
In such a situation, both parties agree to do something; e.g., to be married (the promise, or contract). Each person does certain things to prepare for the marriage that are necessary, reasonable and expected to be done regarding such a contract. This is called "reliance" - - that is, "but for" the promise or contract, the parties would not have done the things they have done to prepare and would not have spent money on those preparations "but for" such contract or promise. This is called "detrimental reliance".
When one of the parties breaches the contract, that party may, in fact, be held responsible to the other for the other's detrimental reliance upon the contract.
A court will make one of two judgments:
a. give you the whole amount of costs, and you turn over to the other party those tangible things that can be turned over.
b. give you one-half of the total amount being spent and make you eat the other half; but, you get to keep all tangible items, like dresses, napkins, rings, etc.
Depending upon how much you have spent up to the time of the breach, will determine which court you must file your lawsuit.
See an attorney for further details and for representation.
IAAL
