‘LOVER CAN BE SUED FOR BREAKING ENGAGEMENT’

MBABANE – Did you know that you can sue your partner who has broken an engagement? Just like marriage, an engagement is regarded as a contract by law. It might shock you that one may sue a fiancé who has broken their heart. Nowadays, engagements and marriage seem to have lost their value, but it is comforting to know that one may actually pay a jilted lover compensation for the time and effort put in the relationship.

This enlightenment has been brought about by Mariah Carey and ex fiancé James Packer’s break-up last September while they were on holiday in Greece.
Tabloid news reported that Mariah was reportedly so devastated she cancelled a leg of her tour and could not perform due to the ‘emotional trauma’ she suffered as a result of the break-up.

The songstress allegedly filed a lawsuit demanding US$50 million (R650 million) from Packer, claiming that she uprooted her life and her children from New York to be with Packer in Los Angeles during the time of their engagement.
She now wants financial compensation for all the time and effort she put into the relationship, and the two will battle it out in court soon.

Since being jilted on the last minute seems to be normal for a lot of people, this might cause them to nod their heads in dismay of Carey’s actions, but even in Swaziland, breaking up with your fiancé is considered a breach of contract.
Advocate Lucas Maziya confirmed that an engagement is recognised as a contract by law and a scorned lover may file for a lawsuit for non fulfilment of the contract as a breach of promise.

“A lover can sue her partner for a breach of promise and if the reason for the breach is not strong enough, one is guaranteed to win the case,” said Maziya. He added that a lover who wants to take legal action against a lover may produce valid proof that he or she was engaged to the person they want compensation from. According to Maziya, falling out of love with the promised person is not strong enough to let the sued person off the hook.
“There must be solid legitimate reasons like assault for instance, otherwise loss of interest is not valid enough for breaking up an engagement,” said the advocate.

The procedure to file a lawsuit against a partner who violated a contract is that the plaintiff needs to produce proof of engagement. This may be in a form of an engagement party, proof of purchase of the engagement ring, photos or even witnesses who were present when the engagement took place.

Even though the advocate could not state the exact time for filing the lawsuit after the breach of promise, Maziya said the claimant may file for a lawsuit within a reasonable period of time. Maziya said there are not many cases of this nature in Swaziland because most of the time, males are the jilted ones and they fear victimisation should they try to sue their partners.

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