Breach o F Promise To Marry
Breach o F Promise To Marry
Breach o F Promise To Marry
Key words
1. Marriage
Marriage is defined as a legal union of a couple as spouses, voluntary union for life of one man and
woman (heterosexual) with exclusion of others.
Also article 31
2. Breach
The black’s law dictionary 10th edition, page 225, defines a breach as a violation or infraction of a law,
obligation or agreement. This can be through neglect, refusal or resistance to marry a person.
3. Promise
The black’s law dictionary 10th edition, page1406 defines a promise as a manifestation of an intention to
act or restrain from acting in a specified manner. The promise must be conveyed in such a way that the
other party can know whether it has been fulfilled or not.
In the case of Agoma V Guiness 1995, using the Concise Law dictionary, defined a promise as an
expression of an intention to do or forebear from an act.
The black’s law dictionary defines a breach of a promise to marry as a violation of one’s word or
undertaking, especially a promise to marry.
An action for a breach of promise to marry arises when a person makes a promise to marry another and
refuses to perform the promise.
1. To protect person’s that have lost money, property and resources that have been lost in hopes
of getting married.
2. To provide remedies/ opportunity for the aggrieved party.
This where a person fails to fulfill their obligation to marry another upon a fixed condition for example
failure to marry at another at an agreed given date.
b) Anticipatory breach
This is where a person may refuses/ turn down their promise to marry or gets another person without
communicating or consent of the other party.
1. The party must prove to the satisfactory of the court that there was in fact a promise to marry.
(Mutual agreement)- Hence enforceable
2. The other party has failed or refused to keep to the agreement of the promise
N.B:
For a person to succeed under the principle of breach of promise to marry, the actions of the
defendant/ respondent must either be expressed by conduct or implied in writing for example,
introduction of one to family members, giving one a wedding ring (Cohen V Seller). This acts are
analyzed by court basing on the requirements of different forms of marriage.
Brief fact;
The defendant had promised to marry the plaintiff (Ezeanah) and based on the promise she made
significant personal changes and was publically known as Atta’s fiancée. Atta breached the promise
causing the plaintiff to undergo emotional distress loss of reputation and social embarrassment. Court
ruled in favor of the defendant for failure of Ezeanah to prove the existence of a promise.
A) The party must prove to the satisfactory of the court that there was in fact a promise to marry.
In Woodman v. Woodman
Brief facts;
The plaintiff sued to recover damages for breach of promise to marry; she used three letter evidence,
i.e. one by herself, the second by her brother in law asking the defendant to make his position clear and
third by the pastor where the plaintiff prayed. The defendant did not answer any of those letters. Court
held that silence did not amount to acceptance.
B) The other party has failed or refused to keep to the agreement of the promise.
The case also stated that mere conversations and romantic relationships without more actions is not
enough for court to found an agreement to marry.
The case also stated that where there is absence of written agreement, court will look at the institution
of marriage according to society, person behavior in order to prove breach of promise to marry for
example proposal, time of courtship, introduction to friends, to parents and engagement ring.
a) Fraudulent misrepresentation.
This is where one may deceitfully refuse to disclose their marital status to another hence one relaying on
their statement and accepting the offer to a promise to marry.
b) Infidelity.
When using this as a defense the aggrieved party, one must prove that the other party to the
agreement was caught or seen in the act, pregnant.
c) Body infirmity/illness.
This is when one party to the marriage promise maybe suffering from a physical mental incapacity
preventing them from performing there marital duties for example can’t give birth, impotent man or
suffering from an incurable disease for example HIV.
d) Change in character.
Remedies
a) Damages
What does court bases on to award/ compute damages;
In Larok v. Obwoya
Brief facts
The lady who was the Respondent and the Appellant were friends when the lady was a pupil at college
she became pregnant and as a result was expelled from the college. The man then wrote to the lady
promising to marry her by the end of April. This was in 1968. In October he again wrote to the lady
indicating that he was no longer keen to marry her. The lady then went to court and sued for breach of
promise to marry and the lower court held that the man had committed a breach of the promise and
awarded the lady 2000 as damages. The court based its computation on two grounds that the chances
of getting married had been impaired and secondly the injury posed to her feelings. The man appealed
but his appeal was dismissed and the sum of 2000 shillings was to be paid.
A person cannot rely on the common law principle of breach of promise to marry if they are;
Spiers v. Hunt
The defendant promised to marry the plaintiff on the death of his wife which was contrary to public
policy. The defendant was aged 70yrs and had promised to marry the plaintiff 35 yrs at the death of his
wife. The plaintiff knew the defendant to be married when he made the promise and they had indulged
in sexual intercourse for 5 years during which they got children. The defendant‘s wife was older than the
defendant and she suffered from a heart problem from which she was expected to die suddenly and
earlier. However, she didn‘t die as early as expected and she survived another 8 yrs. On her death, the
defendant refused to marry the plaintiff who sued him from breach of promise to marry.
Held, to hold such a contract enforceable is to introduce into social life a dangerous and immoral
principle and it is only in the most corrupt conditions of society that such an agreement could be
tolerated as lawful.
However, many countries have abolished the principle of promise to marry since is destabilizes families
norms and value, they also claim that it has increased the so called “gold diggers” for example in
counties like England in 1970, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.
Conclusion