During a relationship.
In order to enhance feelings and express love.
It often happens to both men and women.
Economic transactions such as transfers, red envelopes, and gifts.
But. If one day they break up.
Can I get my belongings back?
A gift during a relationship.
And how to distinguish and identify?
Image source network invasion and deletion.
part.01
[Brief facts of the case].
On November 12, 2022, plaintiff Huang Xiaojie and defendant Liu Daying were introduced to each other by matchmaker Lu, and their relationship was confirmed shortly after they met, and from December 2022 to February 3, 2023, the defendant went to live in the plaintiff's dormitory.
At the beginning of January 2023, the plaintiff and the defendant negotiated marriage matters, and the plaintiff's father implemented the relevant auspicious date for marriage, and on January 6 of the same year, the matchmaker Lu conveyed the selected relevant auspicious date for marriage to the defendant Liu Daying through WeChat, and the content of the relevant auspicious date for marriage sent by Lu to the defendant through WeChat was:
Marriage registration: the eighth day of the second lunar month (February 27 of the current calendar).
Gifts: Wedding on the ninth day of the second month of the lunar calendar (March 30 of the current calendar), etc.
In January of the same year, plaintiff Huang Xiaojie and his father, defendant Liu Daying and his mother and matchmaker went to a furniture store in Nanning to discuss the purchase of furniture.
Between December 15, 2022 and January 13, 2023, the plaintiff transferred money to the defendant through WeChat 6 times, each time with varying amounts, with a total transfer of 16,450 yuan, of which 5 transfers did not exceed 2,000 yuan, totaling 2,450 yuanThere was one transfer of more than $2,000, which was $14,000.
On December 15, 2022, the plaintiff purchased a water heater and delivered it to the defendant's rented house in Nanning and installed it for the defendant's use, and on January 11, 2023, the plaintiff purchased a refrigerator and a washing machine and sent it to the defendant's rented house in Nanning for the defendant's use.
On January 17, 2023, the plaintiff and his relatives brought cigarettes and other items to the defendant's house to meet and have dinner with the defendant's family and their relatives, and the dinner event was about four tables of dishes. In addition, the plaintiff's parents paid the defendant $2,000 on the same day.
On April 28, 2023, the plaintiff Huang Xiaojie filed a lawsuit with the court on the grounds of a marriage contract property dispute because the defendant Liu Daying refused to register the marriage, demanding that the defendant return the total amount of RMB 41,903 involved in the case.
During the trial, the plaintiff also stated that in order to get married, in January 2023, the plaintiff purchased a bed, a dressing table, a TV cabinet and a coffee table in a furniture store in Nanning, spending a total of 12,593 yuan, and now the above furniture is placed in the plaintiff's house. The defendant stated that it was not clear whether the above furniture had been purchased, and the specific amount was not clear, and if it had been purchased and placed in the plaintiff's house, there was no reason for the defendant to return it.
part.02
[Court hearing].
After trial, the court held that during the relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant, the plaintiff voluntarily donated property to the defendant, and the defendant also received the property, and the legal relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant was a gift contract, and the cause of action in this case should be a dispute over a gift contract.
Image source network invasion and deletion.
(1) On the issue of plaintiff Huang Xiaojie's lawsuit against defendant Liu Daying for the return of the bride price of RMB 18,450.
The bride price is a payment of a relatively large amount of money or property by one party and his relatives to the other party and his relatives before or at the time of marriage on the basis of the marriage contract and for the purpose of consuming a marriage relationship in accordance with local customs.
The plaintiff and the defendant were dating in the name of love, and between December 15, 2022 and January 13, 2023, the plaintiff transferred money to the defendant several times, with a cumulative amount of RMB 16,450. The plaintiff made it clear at the trial that the purpose of the transfer was to conclude a marriage relationship with the defendant, and based on the plaintiff's subjective statement and objective acts such as choosing an auspicious date for marriage and negotiating the purchase of furniture by the families of both parties, it can be determined that the plaintiff's act of donating money to the defendant was for the purpose of the marriage of the two parties. According to Article 158 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, civil juristic acts may be conditional, and civil juristic acts with conditions for effectiveness shall take effect when the conditions are fulfilled. Civil juristic acts with conditions for rescission shall become invalid when the conditions are fulfilled. Now the defendant does not agree to register the marriage with the plaintiff, the conditions for dissolution have been fulfilled, the gift has lost its legal effect, and the donee has lost its legal basis for continuing to possess the donated propertyTherefore, the plaintiff has the right to request the defendant to return it
As for the scope and amount of the return,Between December 15, 2022 and January 13, 2023, of the 16,450 yuan transferred by the plaintiff to the defendant through WeChat, 14,000 yuan obviously exceeded the scope of normal expenses for maintaining the relationship, and should be recognized as a gift with a rescission conditionThe defendant should return it
The RMB 2,000 paid by the plaintiff's parents to the defendant when the relatives of the two parties met for dinner on January 17, 2023 also exceeded the scope of normal expenses for maintaining the relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant, and should also be deemed to be a gift with a termination conditionThe defendant should also return it
The part of the plaintiff's transfer of no more than 2,000 yuan, totaling 2,450 yuan, was a consumptive gift to the defendant during the relationship, which was a necessary expense to maintain the relationship between the two parties, and was not a gift with a condition of rescission, that is, it was not a gift for the purpose of marriage, so the part of the payment was 2,450 yuanThe defendant is not required to return it
In summary, the defendant should return $16,000 to the plaintiff.
(2) On the issue of the plaintiff's request for the defendant to return the water heater, refrigerator, and washing machineThe defendant expressed his willingness to return it at the trial, and the court confirmed it
(3) On the issue of the plaintiff's request for compensation of RMB 6,500 from the defendant. The plaintiff's so-called "meeting" belonged to the meeting and dinner party between the plaintiff and the defendant, and although the dinner party had about four tables of dishes, the plaintiff did not provide evidence to prove the specific amount of the dinner expenses, nor did it provide evidence to prove that the expenses of the dinner party were borne by the plaintiff, so the plaintiff filed a claimThe court did not support it
(4) On the issue of the plaintiff's request for the defendant to return the amount of RMB 12,953 for the customized furnitureThe plaintiff did not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate the specific amount of the furniture that was custom-madeThe court also did not support it
part.03
[Court Decision].
In accordance with Articles 158 and 657 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China and Article 90 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the court ruled that:
1. The defendant shall return the plaintiff RMB 16,000 within 15 days from the effective date of this judgment;
2. The defendant shall return one water heater, one refrigerator, and one washing machine to the plaintiff within 15 days of the effective date of this judgment
3. The plaintiff's other litigation claims are rejected. (The names of the above parties have been changed).
part.04
[Judge's Message].
"Gift" is an act in which the donor gives his property to the donee free of charge, and the donee expresses his acceptance. Gifts of property during a relationship, especially during a marriage contract, are conditional gifts if the true intention of the parties is to enter into a marriage relationship. A conditional gift takes effect only when the attached conditions are fulfilled, and if the attached conditions are not fulfilled, the gift does not take legal effect and the gift should be returned.
In trial practice, where a party requests the return of the gift, based on the specific circumstances of the case, comprehensively consider the method, amount, and purpose of the gift made by both parties during their relationship, and whether the property was given for the purpose of marriage, and when the purpose of marriage cannot be achieved, the other party may be required to return it, but the property that is not given to each other out of courtesy during the relationship is not subject to marriage, and the other party cannot be required to return it. For whether it is necessary to return the money donated by one party during the relationship between the two parties, the specific situation can be referred to from the following aspects:
1. A part of daily life is given, such as buying clothes, bags, inviting guests to dinner, etc.;2. Special days, such as Valentine's Day, Qixi Festival, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.;3. Special amounts, such as equal amounts and other small gifts.
All of the above can be presumed to be a gift from both parties to express their love and cultivate affection, and once the donor has delivered, he cannot ask for return. As for gifts of valuables between a man and a woman, such as real estate, cars, furniture, or a large amount of cash, transfers, etc., because the amount involved is relatively large, it is generally a gift for the purpose of marriage, which can be presumed to be a bride price, and should bear the responsibility of returning.
[**Guangxi High Court].