This wasn’t a ‘normal breakup’: Ex-fiancée claims she helped pay for $16K engagement ring at centre of lawsuit
BY KEITH FRASER, THE PROVINCE SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 8:26 AM
A woman whose former fiance is going to court to get a $16,500 engagement ring returned says she has been unfairly branded a gold-digger.
A story in Wednesday’s Province described Pasquale Angelino Zampieri’s bid to recover the ring he gave to his fiancée Jessica Bennett.
Zampieri, 46, filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme court that said the ring was not a gift and that he had also bought a wedding dress for Bennett, 37 and planned to donate a kidney to her.
Bennett’s initial response to the lawsuit was limited to saying that she had paid for some of the ring and that she intended to fight the case in court.
But on Wednesday she claimed that the story was one-sided and that she had received threats on Facebook and couldn’t go outside.
“I’m really being bashed here. I have people calling me a gold digger on Facebook and trying to add me and I don’t even know them.”
She said she bought a car and got breast enhancement surgery — all on the assumption of getting married.
Zampieri said he paid $13,500 towards the ring, with $3,500 outstanding.
Bennett conceded that Zampieri paid $10,000 but insisted that she had paid in cash some of the remaining $3,500.
Reached Wednesday, Zampieri continued to maintain he’d paid for the whole ring.
“I’ll even go to a lie-detector test.”
Bennett said that she would not be seeking to retain the ring were it not for financial and other issues that she says led to the breakup in August, after the ring was given to her in March.
“If it was a normal breakup, I honestly would have given him the ring back and just went my own way,” she said.
“I gave my other ex, I gave my kid’s dad the ring back. I went out with (a businessman) in Saskatchewan. He had $10 million. I took my suitcase and left. I took nothing of his with me.”
Zampieri is seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of the ring. The matter is expected to be heard in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Thursday.
http://www.theprovince.com/life/a9e+claims+helped+engagement+ring+centre+lawsuit/8929256/story.html
BY KEITH FRASER, THE PROVINCE SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 8:26 AM
A woman whose former fiance is going to court to get a $16,500 engagement ring returned says she has been unfairly branded a gold-digger.
A story in Wednesday’s Province described Pasquale Angelino Zampieri’s bid to recover the ring he gave to his fiancée Jessica Bennett.
Zampieri, 46, filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme court that said the ring was not a gift and that he had also bought a wedding dress for Bennett, 37 and planned to donate a kidney to her.
Bennett’s initial response to the lawsuit was limited to saying that she had paid for some of the ring and that she intended to fight the case in court.
But on Wednesday she claimed that the story was one-sided and that she had received threats on Facebook and couldn’t go outside.
“I’m really being bashed here. I have people calling me a gold digger on Facebook and trying to add me and I don’t even know them.”
She said she bought a car and got breast enhancement surgery — all on the assumption of getting married.
Zampieri said he paid $13,500 towards the ring, with $3,500 outstanding.
Bennett conceded that Zampieri paid $10,000 but insisted that she had paid in cash some of the remaining $3,500.
Reached Wednesday, Zampieri continued to maintain he’d paid for the whole ring.
“I’ll even go to a lie-detector test.”
Bennett said that she would not be seeking to retain the ring were it not for financial and other issues that she says led to the breakup in August, after the ring was given to her in March.
“If it was a normal breakup, I honestly would have given him the ring back and just went my own way,” she said.
“I gave my other ex, I gave my kid’s dad the ring back. I went out with (a businessman) in Saskatchewan. He had $10 million. I took my suitcase and left. I took nothing of his with me.”
Zampieri is seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of the ring. The matter is expected to be heard in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Thursday.
http://www.theprovince.com/life/a9e+claims+helped+engagement+ring+centre+lawsuit/8929256/story.html
