Jilted bride awarded £75,000 after she sues cheating fiancé for breach of promise

13 April 2012

A jilted bride has been awarded £75,000 by a court after she successfully sued her fiancé for breach of promise.


Heartbroken Rosemary Shell was dumped by Daniel Gibbs just two days before she was to walk down the aisle.

She returned home from work to find a goodbye note and a £2,500 cheque and later discovered he was cheating on her with another woman.

But instead of getting mad, the 46-year-old decided to get even.

Rosemary Shell

Rosemary Shell

Daniel Gibbs

Daniel Gibbs

She sued for breach of promise and asked for damages to compensate for her pain and suffering as well as loss of income from giving up her job to be with Gibbs.

A jury in Gainesville, Georgia, sided with her and ordered Gibbs to pay her  $150,000 (£75,000).

Shell said she was delighted with the award.

She said: 'He asked me to marry him. He gave me a ring and I gave up my life and my career.

'He told me he would pay my bills, that we would be married by  the holidays and we would live happily ever after. I believed him.'

Shell's lawyer Lydia Sartain successfully argued before a jury that Gibbs owed  Shell what she'd lost in salary plus pain and suffering.  

'He callously allowed her to quit her job, move into  his house where she had no income and then after a couple of months he just put her out on the streets and said "You know, you're on your own",' said Sartain. 

'We’re certainly pleased with the verdict of the jury and very satisfied with the amount awarded .

'Obviously they took this case very seriously and understood that Mr Gibbs had without justification breached a contract and caused my client a great deal of harm, financially and emotionally.'

The court heard that Shell and Gibbs had dated for five years and had planned to wed on December 2, 2007.

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