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Kelley v. Cooper

Evidence that the defendant was carrying on a relationship with another woman both before and after he proposed to the plaintiff supported the trial judge's ruling that the defendant did not have the present intent to marry the plaintiff at the time of the proposal.

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Following a bench trial, the trial court awarded Melissa Cooper damages on her claims of breach of promise to marry, fraud, and attorney fees. Without having moved for a directed verdict in the trial court, which limits his possible recourse to a new trial,1 Christopher Ned Kelley raises five enumerations of error, including that a promise to marry is not enforceable when the parties are in a meretricious relationship. We find no error and affirm.

Construed in favor of the judgment, the evidence produced at trial shows that Kelley and Cooper had been living together since at least 2000 and had one child together, when, on December 23, 2004, Kelley proposed marriage to Cooper and gave her a ring valued at approximately $10,000. Cooper accepted the proposal. The couple continued to live together thereafter and moved to a new home. Cooper also left her job at Kelley’s request in order to stay home and raise the children.2 Although the couple was never formally married, Kelley often held out the couple as husband and wife.

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