Internal Memorandum- Legal Research Assignment

WHAT IS NEEDED:::::Write an Internal memorandum……. Larry asked you to research the relevant New jersey law and write an internal memorandum based upon the facts Mary stated in your conference, John’s complaint, and your research of New Jersey law on the issue of John’s right to get back the ring or recover money damages from Mary. In your memorandum, you should advise whether Mary may successfully assert a defense to John’s suit based on her contention that he was at fault for breaking off the engagement. Follow the memorandum format that is attached..which is printed as Illustration 3-1 at pages 28 to 29 of the Barkan book.
Details:: You are a lawyer employed by the firm of Le Beef, Lambe, & Veale, in Montclair, New Jersey. Senior attorney, Larry Lawful, asked you to sit in on an initial conference with a new client, Mary Jones. Mary was very upset at the start. She was crying when you and Larry entered the conference room. Between her sobbing, Mary showed you a complaint that the lawyer for her ex-fiancé, John Smith, had the Sheriff deliver to Mary at her at her parents’ Clifton home where she is living. The complaint seeks an order compelling Mary to return an engagement ring that John gave to her, or pay John damages for the ring’s alleged value of $26,000.
Mary said that she and John began dating in their freshman years at Montclair State University. They both graduated in May 2019. On June 1, 2019, John proposed marriage and presented Mary with a diamond engagement ring. Mary immediately accepted John’s proposal. The happy couple began to make plans for their wedding.

During the months that followed, Mary and John increasingly argued about their wedding plans and their career plans after graduation. On December 1, 2019, John told Mary that he decided to call off the engagement and marriage. He also asked her to return the engagement ring. He referred to their recent relationship difficulties. Mary refused to return the ring and asked John to reconsider. She immediately called her then best friend Eliza White. Eliza confessed that she and John had been dating for about a month, after John began calling her to discuss the difficulties he and Mary were having in their relationship.

In October 2020, John’s lawyer filed his civil action complaint in the New Jersey Superior Court, Essex County. In this complaint, John admitted that he terminated his engagement with Mary. He alleged that he made a conditional gift of the ring in contemplation of the parties’ marriage, which did not take place.