RoseMary Shell dated what we would all agree was a confirmed bachelor from Georgia for years and years. She finally broke it off, in July 2006, because Wayne Gibbs would not propose. On November 3, 2006, after four months apart, Gibbs turned up at her door in Florida and asked her to marry him.

He presented her with a fancy ring.

She accepted, and quit her job in Pensacola to move to Gibb’s home in Georgia.

They set a wedding date of December 2, 2006.

According to her lawsuit, on November 29, three days before the wedding, he left a note in the bathroom saying he was having doubts.

A note in the bathroom? That’s style.

The ceremony was off. A month later, she moved out.

In March, 2007, his told her he needed “more time” to decide what he wanted to do.

In April, 2007, she found out that he had been dating someone else while they were engaged.

And so, in June 2007, Shell sued her ex-fiance for breach of contract. Her court papers outlined the details of the case, saying she had suffered “wounded pride,” “mortification,” “humiliation,” “shame,” and “disgrace.”

The three-day trial in Hall County, Georgia, concluded last week.

She testified that she had left her home and car behind in Florida, and a job that paid $81,000 a year plus a bonus, in order to marry him. 

She testified that in December, at his urging, she had filed for bankruptcy. 

She also said she had no job, no health insurance, and no life insurance, thanks to his broken promise.

In his defense he said that he had paid $30,000 of her debts, bought her an expensive engagement ring, and took her on trips.

His lawyer summed up Gibbs’s case by telling the jury: “If you award one penny, you’re saying, ‘File frivolous lawsuits.’”

A jury of six men and six women in Hall County, Georgia, award Ms. Shell $150,000 last Wednesday, a figure considerably higher than what she had asked for in pre-trial discussions.

In a television interview after the jury decision, she said was a “little bit” surprised by the amount, but that “justice was done.”

“People shouldn’t be allowed to treat people that way.”

Her lawyer, Lydia J. Sartain, believed that the decision went in her client’s favor because Hall County “is very Conservative, very Republican,” with juries that “rendered conservative verdicts.” In Hall County, a promise is a promise.

“I hope it sets a precedent that when you contract, when people rely on it to their detriment, you may be held accountable for any damages you cause,” she said.

The web site Overlawyered commented that if Gibbs had gone ahead and married Shell, then filed for divorce under the no-fault rules even a few days after the wedding, she would not have been able to sue for breach of contract.

Trust a bunch of lawyers to figure out how a wedding would get a guy out of trouble.

Click on the PDF for a copy of the lawsuit.