For me, I still think that if a man gives a gift (ring) but then breaks the engagement, even if the law is on the man's side, the decent thing is to let the woman keep it, unless she lied or did something that caused the engagement break up. Just my opinion. Otherwise a guy can go around proposing to women, giving them a ring, break it off, use the same ring to propose to someone else, etc etc.
So a guy should give up a valuable ring that he may legally have the rights to because otherwise he would be able to keep using the same ring to propose to women? Do you know many people that go around proposing to women? That seems to be a strange leap you are making in this case.
No, def not related to this case! And there's no indication that's what happened in this case.
Regarding who gets the ring if the guy proposes and then breaks it off, that's just my personal opinion, and it would depend on the circumstances.
There is also the situation, that the bride and or bride's family often contributes more to the wedding; if the engagement is broken off very close to actual wedding the woman, woman's family may lose significant amount in deposits, etc. Much more than the worth of an typical engagement ring. But I guess that's a lawsuit for another day.
This is from the internetz
For the legal deal on rings, we turned to Caroline Krauss-Browne, an attorney in the matrimonial department at Tenzer Greenblatt LLP, in New York City. Note however, that laws differ state to state. "In accepting the ring, the bride-to-be promises her hand in marriage. So long as she is willing to fulfill her promise, she has given consideration for contract. So if he breaks it off, she can keep the ring," Caroline explains. "But if she breaks off the engagement, she signifies that she is no longer willing to keep the promise, and in this case, she should not retain benefit from the agreement (the ring)." If the ring cost less than $2,000, Caroline says that a small-claims court is a fine forum to air your grievance. (Check small-claims limits in your locale.) But, Caroline maintains, "If the ring were an heirloom of extraordinary value, the laws of equity would probably override in a situation like that." But for the legal specifics of your state, consult with a local attorney.