Breach of promise
Over the past weekend singer Sunette Bridges made headline news throughout South Africa for her High Court case where she is suing her ex-fiancé Skip Van Jaarsveld for damages for R1 million for breach of promise.
She claimed that she had suffered expenses in wedding plans and costs for relocating to the Eastern Cape. In a text message Van Jaarsveld apparently wrote that he no longer wanted to marry her. Van Jaarsveld however alleges that he realised that it would be a mistake to marry her as she had been married four times before.
In South African Law a claim for breach of promise is normally heard in the High Court and is normally only successful when a party can prove that he/she would have suffered financial loss as a result of the breach of promise.
The courts take into account factors such as how long the marriage would have lasted. In this case Bridges had already been married four times and this could count significantly against her. The fact that she was also going to continue her signing career and be away from home often may also count against her.
Written by Peter M Baker, a divorce attorney in Cape Town.