The case of the jilted bride is officially over.
Wayne Gibbs gave his ex-fiancee $150,000 Thursday, honoring a judgment that a Hall County jury ordered him to pay in July after finding him in breach of contract for breaking off a marriage engagement.
RoseMary Allen, who went by the name RoseMary Shell when she sued Gibbs, claimed she gave up a good-paying job in Florida and moved back to Gainesville on the promise that Gibbs would marry her. Gibbs, who proposed in November 2006, backed out of the marriage the following March.
The unusual civil trial drew widespread media attention, and following the verdict, Allen appeared with her attorney, Lydia Sartain, on NBC’s "Today" show to discuss the case.
Gibbs asked presiding Hall County Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin for a new trial, but the judge denied the motion two weeks ago, saying she would not second-guess the jury’s verdict. Gibbs and his attorney, Hammond Law, had considered taking the case to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Law said Thursday that his client didn’t offer a reason for abandoning any further appeals.
"He really didn’t explain; he just decided for it to be over," Law said.
Sartain said her client agreed to waive 8 percent interest on the judgment that had been accruing since August at a rate of about $1,000 a month. Sartain never doubted her client eventually would be paid.
"We believed the verdict was legally sound and would have withstood any appeal," Sartain said.
The jilted bride said Thursday was "a very happy day."
"It has been a very trying time, a very difficult time of my life, and I’m glad to be leaving it for happier times," Allen said. "I’m leaving it all behind and closing this chapter of the book. I’ve always been a believer that things will happen as they should."
In October, Allen was married after a brief engagement — that was honored.
"Hopefully, everyone will live happily ever after," Sartain said.
Wayne Gibbs gave his ex-fiancee $150,000 Thursday, honoring a judgment that a Hall County jury ordered him to pay in July after finding him in breach of contract for breaking off a marriage engagement.
RoseMary Allen, who went by the name RoseMary Shell when she sued Gibbs, claimed she gave up a good-paying job in Florida and moved back to Gainesville on the promise that Gibbs would marry her. Gibbs, who proposed in November 2006, backed out of the marriage the following March.
The unusual civil trial drew widespread media attention, and following the verdict, Allen appeared with her attorney, Lydia Sartain, on NBC’s "Today" show to discuss the case.
Gibbs asked presiding Hall County Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin for a new trial, but the judge denied the motion two weeks ago, saying she would not second-guess the jury’s verdict. Gibbs and his attorney, Hammond Law, had considered taking the case to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Law said Thursday that his client didn’t offer a reason for abandoning any further appeals.
"He really didn’t explain; he just decided for it to be over," Law said.
Sartain said her client agreed to waive 8 percent interest on the judgment that had been accruing since August at a rate of about $1,000 a month. Sartain never doubted her client eventually would be paid.
"We believed the verdict was legally sound and would have withstood any appeal," Sartain said.
The jilted bride said Thursday was "a very happy day."
"It has been a very trying time, a very difficult time of my life, and I’m glad to be leaving it for happier times," Allen said. "I’m leaving it all behind and closing this chapter of the book. I’ve always been a believer that things will happen as they should."
In October, Allen was married after a brief engagement — that was honored.
"Hopefully, everyone will live happily ever after," Sartain said.
So a woman (RoseMary Shell) is about to get married, and her fiancee (Wayne Gibbs) leaves her three days before the wedding.
It’s happened before, and it will probably happen again.
Unless someone hears about this story. Shell brought her would-be husband to court, and won $150,000 in a settlement.
That’s crazy.
And it sets a dangerous precedent. What happens the next time it occurs? Or when a woman becomes a runaway bride? How much would the husband receive?
In the two news stories I’ve seen, the jurors even seem surprised that they voted this way. It seems as if there must have been a couple of other jurors who gave good reasoning at the time, and that’s all it took.
One story said it would have been cheaper for the man if they got married, waited six weeks, and then got divorce.
Apparently, Shell left an $80,000 job to move in the Gibbs, but Gibbs paid off all her debts. Even for those who argue that she deserves some money for quiting her job, she doesn’t deserve two years worth!
I think it’s just ludicrous, but that might be the man in me speaking.
It’s happened before, and it will probably happen again.
Unless someone hears about this story. Shell brought her would-be husband to court, and won $150,000 in a settlement.
That’s crazy.
And it sets a dangerous precedent. What happens the next time it occurs? Or when a woman becomes a runaway bride? How much would the husband receive?
In the two news stories I’ve seen, the jurors even seem surprised that they voted this way. It seems as if there must have been a couple of other jurors who gave good reasoning at the time, and that’s all it took.
One story said it would have been cheaper for the man if they got married, waited six weeks, and then got divorce.
Apparently, Shell left an $80,000 job to move in the Gibbs, but Gibbs paid off all her debts. Even for those who argue that she deserves some money for quiting her job, she doesn’t deserve two years worth!
I think it’s just ludicrous, but that might be the man in me speaking.
So one juror admits to being bullied by other jurors and folks are okay with that? Why does this woman deserve $150,000? So BK forum folks, this is the way to avoid bankruptcy! Apparently the lovely bride to be (now married to another) was deep in debt and about to declare bankruptcy until she got with Lydia (former DA of Hall County) and thought up this idea. Great job!
Wayne Gibbs is wealthy. And after the breakup note, they lived together for a few months.
Ms. Shell received, in total:
- a $5000 breakup check
- possibly tens of thousands of dollars in mortgage payments (lets assume about $15,000)
- $30,000 in debt relief
- an engagement ring (likely worth $10,000+ if Gibbs is as wealthy as his outlays suggest, but let’s cap it at $10,000 even)
Total: $60,000
And the best part, she did this while making $80k per year, which is nearly twice the median income for a family of four in most US states. According to the articles referenced, they dated for 5 years. That means that, given my estimate above (which is probably on the low side), that she was making an extra $12,000 per year just for being in a relationship! So her average yearly take-home pay during this period was $92k. Not bad.
Is she a victim? Hardly. Now she can try to get back her old job (not impossible, even in the current economy) or look for another job with similar pay- she’s probably got the credentials to do so. Even if she was cheated on, look what she was making JUST to be a girlfriend. You can pay me $12,000 a year to be in a relationship.
So, now she’s back to square one, except with less debt. Call me petty, but as a man, I really don’t think the state would grant me the courtesy of any sort of recourse if a fiancee walked out on me in this fashion, so I’m not exactly moved to tears. And she was ALREADY $60k ahead.
We all know the old saying: “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is”. She was already being handsomely taken care of, was lured in by the promise of more, all while hiding further financial skeletons in her closet, and in the midst of all of it, demands (and receives) pay for her own faulty personal decision-making?
- a $5000 breakup check
- possibly tens of thousands of dollars in mortgage payments (lets assume about $15,000)
- $30,000 in debt relief
- an engagement ring (likely worth $10,000+ if Gibbs is as wealthy as his outlays suggest, but let’s cap it at $10,000 even)
Total: $60,000
And the best part, she did this while making $80k per year, which is nearly twice the median income for a family of four in most US states. According to the articles referenced, they dated for 5 years. That means that, given my estimate above (which is probably on the low side), that she was making an extra $12,000 per year just for being in a relationship! So her average yearly take-home pay during this period was $92k. Not bad.
Is she a victim? Hardly. Now she can try to get back her old job (not impossible, even in the current economy) or look for another job with similar pay- she’s probably got the credentials to do so. Even if she was cheated on, look what she was making JUST to be a girlfriend. You can pay me $12,000 a year to be in a relationship.
So, now she’s back to square one, except with less debt. Call me petty, but as a man, I really don’t think the state would grant me the courtesy of any sort of recourse if a fiancee walked out on me in this fashion, so I’m not exactly moved to tears. And she was ALREADY $60k ahead.
We all know the old saying: “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is”. She was already being handsomely taken care of, was lured in by the promise of more, all while hiding further financial skeletons in her closet, and in the midst of all of it, demands (and receives) pay for her own faulty personal decision-making?