According to ETONLINE, Mariah Carey received over a $5 million dollar settlement from her ex-fiancé and she kept her 10 million dollar engagement ring! As a result of this headline, I began receiving and hearing questions, such as “How did this happen, wasn’t there a prenup, isn’t she already rich, can’t men change their minds? Was Mariah being petty?” Let’s go over all these questions and then some to ensure that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can demand respect on your check #likeaboss!
According to news reports, Mariah’s ex-fiancé was “not very nice to one of Mariah’s assistants during a vacation in Greece which caused Mariah to have to cancel some of her tours that caused her to lose money.” Being not so nice isn’t why ex-fiancé had to pay Mariah. People are not always nice nor does the law require them to be. So short of “abuse” wherein a Protection From Abuse Petition is filed, the courts… nor attorneys have the authority to regulate someone’s level of niceness. However, the fact that ex-fiancé’s misbehavior caused Mariah Carey to lose money is a violation of every person’s unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which I translate as making money.
By tortuously interfering with Mariah’s right to make money, ex-fiancé had to pay up. Tortious what? Tortious interference covers two types of torts: Interference with contracts and interference with business relations. The two are essentially the same, except that in the first instance, a valid contract is already in existence. The second type, interference with business relations, may be based on a future (“prospective”) contract or it may be based on the relationship itself. Seemingly, Mariah not only met the burden of proof to establish tortious interference, but she had receipts to establish how much her ex-fiancé caused her to lose.
Similarly, Mariah was permitted to keep her engagement ring! Prior to the wedding, most state courts where dispute rises to the level of litigation will cause the recipient to return the ring to the party who purchased it because it’s a conditional gift. If the marriage doesn’t occur, the condition hasn’t been met. However, in this instance, when Mariah accepted her billionaire beau’s proposal, she uprooted her children, staff, clothing and everything Mariah from NYC to California. And while many women and men have uprooted themselves for the sake of love, Mariah didn’t say I do to being lied to.
But what about the prenup? Premarital agreements (also called prenuptial agreements or “prenups”) are a common legal step taken before marriage. A prenup establishes the property and financial rights of each spouse in the event of a divorce. In this case, Mariah Carey and her ex-fiancé did not get married. Accordingly, what she would or would not have received in the event of a divorce is not relevant.
Most women would have left quietly, but not Mariah Carey. Instead, she changed the game by setting precedent about how women are reimbursed for the loss of their coins when a man decides to move on! And because of your boldness to demand and be reimbursed for your loss, we salute you, Ms. Carey!
Toni Moore, Esq. is a Business Attorney and Mentor who shares business, lifestyle and legal information to help women create the business and life they want. To learn more about Toni, feel free to connect on SM @mstonimoore. To see how Toni can help you making better business or lifestyle moves, feel free to contact her at legallychic360.com/contact.