BREACHES OF PROMISE

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 17 June 1935, Page 6

BREACHES OF PROMISE

Amendment to English Law is Again Debated TWO PROMINENT CASES * CONTROVERSIAL VIEWS (Our Own Correspondent—By Air Mail) LONDON, May 2d.

The necessity for an amendment of the law. dealing with breaeh-of-pro-mise actions is again being debated in legal circles. It has been brought into prominence by two recent cases —one in which Miss Angela Joyce, the former beauty queen, lost lier case against Lord Revelstoke, and the other in which a nurso’s verdict for £2OOO against Sir Anthony St. John-M ildmay was reversed on appeal.

One suggestion is that the law should be amended so that for an action of breaeh-of-promise to lie the plaintiff should be required to prove specific damage other than the loss of affection or tlic disappointment of expectations. A distinguished lawyer, with large experience in matrimonial cases, gave it as his opinion that the law as it, stands is good. “In very many cases,” lie said, “indeed, in the vast majority, a broken engagement does not lead to the courts because the plaintiff has suffered no material damage. But there is a section of society in which a broken promise means a great deal to the woman. Take one in a comparatir ely humble station of life. She has perhaps spent all her savings in preparing for the wedding only to bo thrown over at the last moment. “She is certainly entitled to damages to be obtained by a breach of promise action, as is also a. woman who, after giving up a post, to get married, is jilted and finds herself unable to obtain re-employment.’’ An eminent K.C. declared something should be done to eliminate any possibility of “blackmail by process of the court.” “Undoubtedly,” be said, “many breach of promise actions are started simply with the idea of getting money out of a man when actually the woman has suffered no damage at all. I have no doubt that many actions are initiated hut never come into court because the man prefers to pay rather than face the publicity, although he. may have a perfectly good answer.