Judge orders engagement ring's return

NEW YORK, April 7 (UPI) -- A New York state judge ruled against a woman who claimed she did not have to return her ex-lover's $19,000 engagement ring because he cheated on her.

Nassau County Justice F. Dana Winslow ordered Danielle Cavalieri, 26, to return the ring given to her by John Gunther, 27, when they made plans to marry in March 2008, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Cavalieri and Gunther, both of Floral Park, were together for nine years before their relationship ended in October 2008, a year before their planned wedding date.

Gunther filed a lawsuit last year seeking the return of the ring and Cavalieri filed a counterclaim in December claiming Gunther's alleged infidelity entitled her to the ring and more than $100,000 for "severe emotional distress."

Winslow ruled state law gives Gunther the right to seek the return of property given "in contemplation of marriage."

"Consequently," the judge wrote, "fault in the breakup of an engagement is irrelevant."