TO THE DUTY FAMILY COURT

PLAINTIFF: AD
TC Identity No: 12345678910
Address: … Neighborhood, … Street, No:… Apartment:… Kadıköy / ISTANBUL

ATTORNEY : Attorney YY
Address: …………. (UETS – Bar Association registration number: …)

DEFENDANT: MY
Turkish Republic Identity Number: 10987654321
Address: … Neighborhood, … Street, No:… Apartment:… Üsküdar / ISTANBUL

SUBJECT OF THE LAWSUIT: The lawsuit consists of a claim for material and moral damages due to the dissolution of an engagement.

EXPLANATIONS:

1. The plaintiff, client AD, and the defendant, MY, met in 2021 through mutual friends . Following an emotional relationship lasting approximately one year, and with the consent of both families , an engagement ceremony was held on September 10, 2022, at the defendant's family's residence in Üsküdar, in accordance with our traditions . Engagement photographs, video recordings, and witness testimonies will be submitted as evidence in this case file.

2. Before and during the engagement ceremony , the defendant and his family repeatedly stated to the client and his family that a serious relationship with the intention of marriage had been established, and that a wedding would be organized and a civil marriage would be performed as soon as possible. The defendant, MY, explicitly stated in the presence of the client's family , "I take full responsibility in this marriage, I will not upset Ayşe, we will have the wedding in the summer of 2023."

3. The parties' engagement is not merely an informal verbal relationship within the family; it constitutes a legally protected engagement relationship under Article 118 and subsequent articles of the Turkish Civil Code . Engagement rings were exchanged, engagement invitations were printed, and a large ceremony attended by many relatives and friends was held. The defendant also shared this process on social media accounts, introducing my client as her "fiancé. "

4. Following the engagement, the parties and their families agreed that the wedding date would be held in the summer of 2023; accordingly, searching for wedding venues, preparing household items and dowry, and making plans to rent a house. My client, trusting in the engagement process, based her life plans on marriage with the defendant.

5. Due to the defendant's persistent demands, my client was forced to leave her job at … Tekstil A.Ş., where she had worked for approximately four years, as of November 30, 2022 , in order to work in the small online sales business that the defendant planned to establish after the wedding and to prepare for married life . My client's resignation resulted in the loss of her regular income, the termination of her social security coverage, and a disruption of her career planning. This will be evidenced by the termination notice and social security records.

6. At the beginning of the engagement period, the defendant showed interest, respect, and emphasized his intention to marry the client ; however, his behavior changed drastically over time. Starting in early 2023, the defendant frequently became jealous without reason, began excessively interfering in the client's private life, and even attempted to control the client's relationships with family members.

7. The defendant, in clear violation of the obligations of loyalty and trust required by an engagement , began to frequent meetings with a group of old friends without the client's knowledge, exhibited exclusionary behavior towards the client in social life, and often attended jointly planned events alone. This situation psychologically distressed the client and damaged her reputation within her social circle.

8. Starting in April 2023, the defendant significantly reduced communication with the client, began responding late to phone calls and messages, and consistently postponed requests for meetings with excuses such as "I'm busy, let's postpone the wedding a little"; after a while, he stopped responding to the client's messages altogether. Despite the client's inquiries about the status of the engagement and wedding preparations, the defendant avoided giving a clear answer.

9. During this process, the client learned from the defendant's social media posts that the defendant attended various events with another woman and that he introduced himself to his close circle of friends "I'm no longer engaged, I'm confused." This will be proven through witness statements and social media correspondence.

10. Following these developments, March 1, 2024 went to the defendant's residence in Üsküdar to meet with him face-to-face. The defendant, however, used extremely disrespectful language towards the client and his mother, stating: "You are not a woman to marry; your character and your family are problematic. Your family is not even on our level; they are a lower-class and uncultured family. I would not accept people like you as a daughter-in-law into my family. Marrying you would be the biggest mistake of my life. I only tolerated you out of necessity until now; this relationship was a source of shame for me. I am breaking off the engagement; never contact me or my family again." These were extremely harsh and demeaning statements.

11. The defendant unilaterally and definitively broke off the engagement without justifiable cause, purely on their own arbitrary decision and as a result of their actions that violated their duty of fidelity . The client is not at fault in any way during this process. Indeed, our witnesses, who are friends of both parties, will testify that the client behaved respectfully, faithfully, and devotedly towards the defendant during the engagement period; and that they conducted all preparations for the marriage in accordance with the principle of honesty

12. As a result of the defendant's wrongful and culpable termination of the engagement , my client has suffered significant financial losses. These losses are being claimed under Article 120 of the Turkish Civil Code as compensation for material damages due to the termination of the engagement

13. Firstly, significant expenses were incurred by the client and their family in connection with the engagement and wedding preparations

– 25,000.00 TL paid to … Wedding Hall for the engagement ceremony (invoice attached),
– 15,000.00 TL total for the engagement dress, hairdresser, photographer, and videography,
– 110,000.00 TL total for the living room set, bedroom set, white goods, and small household appliances purchased for the wedding and currently in the client's home,
– 30,000.00 TL deposit paid to … Wedding Hall as a prepayment for the wedding, which is stipulated as "non-refundable" in the contract,
– 5,000.00 TL for flight ticket reservations and deposit payments for honeymoon planning.

These items represent expenses incurred by the client and their family for the purpose of marriage; they are considered wasted expenses due to the unfair and culpable breaking of the engagement.

14. My client, trusting in the defendant's promise of marriage and the expectation that the engagement would result in marriage, left her long-term job; consequently, she lost her regular salary. My client's net monthly salary from her previous job was 30,000.00 TL, and the loss of income she suffered as a result of being unemployed for at least six months is 180,000.00 TL. This loss of income stems from a decision my client made, trusting the defendant, in order to adapt to wedding preparations and be included in the defendant's business planning.

of the Turkish Civil Code; if an engagement is broken by one of the parties without just cause, or if it ends automatically due to a cause attributable to one of the parties, the culpable party is obligated to pay appropriate compensation to the other party and to the parents or those acting as parents who suffered damages as a result of the broken engagement. The client and their family incurred all these expenses with the intention of marrying the defendant; the defendant's wrongful and culpable actions resulting in these expenses being uncompensated has caused a clear financial loss for the client.

16. In this specific case, considering the engagement and wedding expenses incurred on behalf of the client, as well as the loss of income due to leaving the job, the present value of the damage suffered by the client makes our claim for 150,000.00 TL in material compensation highly justified and reasonable. The client is currently requesting 150,000.00 TL in material compensation in this lawsuit; and reserves the right to increase the claim through amendment if the damage is found to be higher based on the expert report to be obtained during the trial.

17. The defendant abandoned my client and her family in a manner that was openly humiliating and degrading to society , without any justifiable reason and, on the contrary, as a result of his own unfaithful behavior. The process of breaking off the engagement seriously damaged my client's psychological integrity, personal rights, and social standing.

18. In our society, engagement is not only a private decision between two individuals, but also an institutional relationship leading to marriage . The defendant's actions—essentially abandoning the client, ruining their marriage plans, and leaving them in the position of "abandoned fiancé" among their social circle and relatives— the client intense shame, disappointment, loss of self-confidence, and mental breakdown.

19. The defendant's manner of breaking off the engagement was not a simple separation; it was carried out with harsh words and humiliating behavior that damaged the client's honor and targeted her personality. On the day the engagement was broken off, the defendant made extremely harsh and unfair accusations against the client, such as , "You are not suitable for marriage, my life will be ruined if I marry you," and " Your family is not on our level, it's a lower-class and uncultured family." Furthermore, she attempted to portray the client as at fault by making statements to the client's family such as , "Ayşe is very jealous, a very problematic person, I've given up on the marriage."

20. As a result of the defendant's actions, my client suffered prolonged sleep problems, had difficulty adapting to work and social life, and had to seek psychological support . The reports and prescriptions from the psychiatrists my client consulted during this period will be submitted as evidence in the file. These reports clearly show that my client's personal rights were violated and that significant emotional distress occurred due to the breaking of the engagement

According to Article 121 of the Turkish Civil Code, a party whose personal rights have been violated due to an engagement may claim moral damages from the other party who is at fault. It is clear that the defendant severely violated the obligations of fidelity, honesty, and respect arising from the engagement ; humiliated the client in the public eye and within the family; and acted contrary to the duty of care required by the institution of engagement. Therefore, requesting 100,000.00 TL in moral damages from the defendant to at least partially compensate for the moral harm suffered by the client is consistent with justice, fairness, and the established precedents of the Supreme Court.

22. The purpose of our claim for moral damages is not to achieve unjust enrichment in any way, but to provide partial satisfaction to our client's mental well-being in the face of the severe psychological trauma, loss of reputation, and damage to their sense of security regarding the future that they suffered as a result of the defendant's negligent conduct. The amount of moral damages to be determined will be decided by the judge's discretion, taking into account both the severity of the defendant's fault and our client's economic and social situation.

23. The established jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation also holds that if an engagement is broken without just cause, the culpable party is obligated to compensate the other party for the necessary and appropriate expenses incurred due to the engagement. Furthermore, a suitable amount of moral damages may be awarded to the party whose personal rights have been violated. In the present case, the defendant's fault is entirely justified; the actions that broke the engagement and caused harm to the client originated entirely from the defendant.

LEGAL EVIDENCE:

Our main evidence for proving the case is as follows:

– Photographs and video recordings of the engagement ceremony
– Contracts for the engagement and wedding venue, along with invoices and payment receipts
– Invoices for the engagement dress, hairdresser, photographer, videography, household goods, white goods, small household appliances, and other wedding preparations
– Social Security Institution (SGK) service record, termination notice, and payslips related to the client's departure from employment
– ​​Messages, WhatsApp conversations, and social media correspondence sent by the defendant to the client
– ​​Photographs and social media posts (screenshots) showing the defendant with another woman
– Epicrisis reports, prescriptions, and expert physician opinions regarding the client's psychiatric treatment
– ​​Witness statements
• Witness 1: … (person who attended the engagement ceremony and witnessed the wedding preparations)
• Witness 2: … (family member of the client) •
Witness 3: … (person from the defendant's circle of friends who knows how the engagement was broken off)
– Expert examination, if deemed necessary (to calculate the amount of material damages and loss of income)
– Oath and other legal documents evidence.

We request that your court send letters to the relevant institutions to collect our evidence. Our list of evidence is submitted with the reservation of the right to expand it with new evidence that may emerge during the trial.

LEGAL GROUNDS:

28. The main legal basis for our claims in this case is:
– of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (Engagement, dissolution of engagement, material and moral compensation, return of gifts),
– of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 ,
– Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100,
– Other relevant legislation and of the Supreme Court .

CONCLUSION AND REQUEST:

For the reasons stated and explained above, and together with the matters that your Court may consider ex officio;

1. To determine that the engagement was broken off by the defendant without justifiable cause and due to their own fault.

2. Pursuant to Article 120 of the Turkish Civil Code, as compensation for the material damages suffered by the client due to the engagement and marriage preparations; the defendant shall be ordered to pay 150,000.00 TL in material damages, together with legal interest accruing from March 15, 2024, the date the engagement was broken .

3. Pursuant to Article 121 of the Turkish Civil Code; due to the severe damage to the client's personal rights, humiliation in her social circle, and psychological distress caused by the dissolution of the engagement; 100,000.00 TL in moral damages, along with legal interest accruing from March 15, 2024, the date of the dissolution of the engagement.

4. We reserve the right to increase our claim for monetary compensation through amendment, depending on the expert report and evidence that will emerge during the trial

5. The court costs and attorney's fees shall be borne by the defendant.

We respectfully request and demand that a decision be made on behalf of our client

Date: 17/11/2024

Plaintiff's Attorney
, YY
Signature