What is "breach of promise"

Breach \Breach\ (br[=e]ch), n. [OE. breke, breche, AS. brice, gebrice, gebrece (in comp.), fr. brecan to break; akin to Dan. br[ae]k, MHG. breche, gap, breach. See Break, and cf. Brake (the instrument), Brack a break] .

1. The act of breaking, in a figurative sense.

2. Specifically: A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment; as, a breach of contract; a breach of promise.

3. A gap or opening made made by breaking or battering, as in a wall or fortification; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence; a break; a rupture.

   Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead.
   --Shak.

4. A breaking of waters, as over a vessel; the waters themselves; surge; surf.

   The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters.
   --2 Sam. v. 20.

   A clear breach implies that the waves roll over the vessel without breaking.

   A clean breach implies that everything on deck is swept away.
   --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

5. A breaking up of amicable relations; rupture.

   There's fallen between him and my lord An unkind breach.
   --Shak.

6. A bruise; a wound.

   Breach for breach, eye for eye.
   --Lev. xxiv. 20.

7. (Med.) A hernia; a rupture.

8. A breaking out upon; an assault.

   The Lord had made a breach upon Uzza.
   --1. Chron. xiii. 11.

   Breach of falth, a breaking, or a failure to keep, an expressed or implied promise; a betrayal of confidence or trust.

   Breach of peace, disorderly conduct, disturbing the public peace.

   Breach of privilege, an act or default in violation of the privilege or either house of Parliament, of Congress, or of a State legislature, as, for instance, by false swearing before a committee.
   --Mozley. Abbott.

   Breach of promise, violation of one's plighted word, esp. of a promise to marry.

   Breach of trust, violation of one's duty or faith in a matter entrusted to one.

   Syn: Rent; cleft; chasm; rift; aperture; gap; break; disruption; fracture; rupture; infraction; infringement; violation; quarrel; dispute; contention; difference; misunderstanding.

n. (context legal English) A former tort in common law where a man withdraws an earlier promise to marry a woman.

n. failure to keep a promise (of marriage)

Breach of promise is a common law tort, abolished in many jurisdictions. It was also called breach of contract to marry, and the remedy awarded was known as heart balm.

From at least medieval times until the early 20th century, a man's promise of engagement to marry a woman was considered, in many jurisdictions, a legally binding contract. If the man were to subsequently change his mind, he would be said to be in "breach" of this promise and subject to litigation for damages.

The converse of this was seldom true; the concept that "it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind" had at least some basis in law (though a woman might pay a high social price for exercising this privilege, as explained below)—and unless an actual dowry of money or property had changed hands, a man was only rarely able to recover in a "breach of promise" suit against a woman, were he even allowed to file one.

Changing social attitudes toward morals have led to the decline of this sort of action. Most jurisdictions, at least in the English-speaking, common law world, have become increasingly reluctant to intervene in cases of personal relationships not involving the welfare of children or actual violence. Many have repealed all laws regarding such eventualities; whereas in others the statute allowing such an action may technically remain on the books but the action has become very rare and unlikely to be pursued with any probability of success. What is arising in its stead are judicial opinions and/or statutes permitting a breach of contract action for wedding expenses incurred when the nuptials are called off (see the Leighton settlement below), or for loss of employment, moving and living expenses incurred by one party as a result of an engagement which is later broken (see the Shell case below).

However about one-half of U.S. states still permit such lawsuits, according to the National Paralegal College. Recent examples of suits include the jury award of $150,000 in the 2008 Shell case in Georgia, and $130,000 in the North Carolina jury trial December 17, 2010 in the case of Dellinger v. Barnes (No. 08 CVS 1006). Recent settlement actions include 2011's Serafin v. Leighton in Chicago, Illinois, which proved favorable to the female plaintiff.

Breach of Promise is a 1942 British romance film directed by Harold Huth and starring Clive Brook, Judy Campbell, C.V. France, Marguerite Allan and Percy Walsh. A playwright meets a young woman and she soon files a fake breach of promise action against him, hoping to receive a blackmail payment. Instead he decides to marry her to teach her a lesson.