Man Sues Wife for Being Ugly, Wins RMB 750,000 Settlement

This is all over the place, so...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223718/Chinese-man-sues-wi...

The defendent post-surgery

A man in northern China, Jian Feng, has won a RMB 750,000 settlement against his ex-wife on the grounds that she was actually ugly. The ex-wife, unnamed in court documents, did not inform her then-husband of the RMB 630,000 worth of extensive plastic surgery she had undergone before they had met.

Mr. Jian became suspicious of his wife only after the couple's first child was born. Calling his new-born daughter "incredibly ugly," and looking like neither of her parents, Mr. Jian at first suspected his wife of cheating.

Only then did the mother of Mr. Jian's only child admit to having had plastic surgery to alter her appearances.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Jian divorced his wife and filed suit, eventually winning a hefty payout.

The defendant pre-surgery

Preliminary questions for discussion:

1) How funny is this article? I find it hilarious. One of the better ones I've heard in a long time. An instant classic. I am aware, though, that many may find it more offensive than anything.

2) Do you agree with the judge's decision? Is being sued for being ugly beyond the pale? Or, is this more about deceit, and the fact that the ex-wife misled her husband.

3) Which parent is most harmful to the baby girl's development? The mother, who passed her ugly genes onto the child, or the superficial, family-disowning father?

4) What are your thoughts on the judicial system here?

5) Have you ever wanted to sue someone you regret having sex with?

Tags: feng, hilarious, jian, judicial, lawsuit, ridiculous, tragic, ugly, woman

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Permalink Reply by J Sin on October 30, 2012 at 12:31am

Like they teach you in 1L, caveat emptor.

The wife, of course, should have been forthright about her past surgeries, but the responsibility to determine her suitability as a wife and mother lay entirely with the husband. The husband failed to do his due diligance into his fiance's past before he entered into a marriage agreement. Any post-hoc attempt to nullify the marriage - let alone file suit for compensation - cannot be justified simply because one party to the agreement failed to properly analyze the agreement before entering into it.

A marriage requires commitment to one's partner "until death do us part," not, "until death do us part, or until I discover something about you that I don't like."

While the wife was clearly dishonest, the husband should have known better. On these grounds, I disagree with the verdict in this case.

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Permalink Reply by Nelsie Geografo on October 30, 2012 at 9:11am

For ugliness, no. For false advertising, yes.
However it could be worse... What if the guy discovers his wife was in the past also a guy?
I don't agree with the verdict... I do find it hilarious... But sad.