Man sues ex-fiancée after she breaks off engagement

After his ex-fiancée jilted him before they reached the altar, a Manhattan man made his own vow: I sue.   

Consulting firm executive Steven Silverstein, 29, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday seeking a court ruling to make former fiancée Kendra Platt-Lee pay him back for costs related to their planned wedding and her portion of the rent from two apartments the couple shared over the course of their relationship.

“I don’t think that I owe him any money at all,’’ Platt-Lee told the press from her home in San Diego. “I’m just your normal girl who fell out of love with somebody, and I didn’t feel it was right in my heart. I just didn’t feel I wanted to get married anymore so
I broke it off. I just wanted to break up with somebody and move on, and it turned out that he just wants to drag this out.’’
Silverstein and his attorney declined any comment beyond the lawsuit.

Platt-Lee broke off the engagement over the phone in April, and returned a $32,000 ring given to her by Silverstein on May 10, according to court documents. However, Silverstein is looking to recover his ex's share of the cost of the now-scrapped wedding for 150 guests on Sept. 22 at the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach, N.Y. In addition to the hotel rental, the fees also include a DJ, a wedding photographer, a videographer and furniture rental totaling $25,668.

“I can understand why he’s emotional about it,’’ Platt-Lee said. “We started planning a wedding, and it was really over the top. It was nothing that I wanted, nothing that I could ever afford by myself. If it were up to me I would just want a small little wedding, that’s all. It’s just too much for me.’

 

On April, 13, Platt-Lee left Manhattan for California for what was supposed to be “a one week visit,’’ but never came back. She broke up with Silverstein over the phone 10 days later, according to court documents. She lives in San Diego now, where she works in marketing.

“I just don’t picture myself in New York,’’ she said. “I’m a California girl.”
Silverstein claims that on April 23, immediately after ending the relationship, Platt-Lee withdrew $54,367.87 from the couple’s joint account. Silverstein maintains that $19,269.90 of that money is his, and he wants it back.
“I’m definitely not a gold-digger,’’ she said. “I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve ever owned. I’m just your average American girl who’s college-educated. I did work at Hooters in college to pay my way through school. I was a flight attendant, and I’ve had some great jobs after that.’’
Silverstein also claims that Platt-Lee owes him $8,433.75 for her half of the rent for the six months they lived together in an Upper East Side apartment during their first engagement in 2009.

 

After the two broke up in February 2010, they rekindled in May 2011 and got engaged again a month later, according to the lawsuit. Again, Silverstein claims he picked up the tab for their apartment, and now wants $17,235 back for the rent he paid over nine months for the second apartment