Attorney sued by judge ex-boyfriend: Ring was ‘shut up’ ploy

LIVINGSTON, La. – A Louisiana judge wants his ex-girlfriend to return a diamond-studded engagement ring he says he purchased for her along with a matching wedding band for $62,000.

Wayne Ray Chutz, an elected judge on Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeal, filed a lawsuit seeking repayment against attorney Ellyn Julia Clevenger last month, The Advocate reported Thursday. In it, he also seeks reimbursement of $30,000 to $45,000 for expenses he claims he incurred on Clevenger’s behalf.

Chutz, 69, claims he is the ring’s legal owner because it was given “in contemplation of” a marriage that never happened, the lawsuit says. He proposed to Clevenger in 2016, but she moved out of his house last year and kept the ring, the suit says.

Clevenger, 42, said she is not required to return the ring and that Chutz never intended to get married. She said Chutz gave her the ring to “shut her up” about marriage and that she never received the wedding band.

Chutz also is seeking repayment for what the lawsuit describes as “unpaid debts”: a Chihuahua, an Amazon Prime subscription, insurance premiums and car repairs, among them.

“I’m assuming no matter what the facts are, I don’t have a very good chance, just because of who he is,” Clevenger said. “But I don’t feel like surrendering based on fear.”

Chutz and his attorney did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com