She skipped wedding, kept pricey ring, suit says

A Barrington lawyer sued his ex-wife Tuesday, alleging she backed out of an agreement to remarry him four years ago but has refused to return an engagement ring worth almost $100,000.

William Kaper Jr., 68, says he proposed to his former wife, Dr. Mary Ann Rosanova-Kaper of Inverness, in 1999 at a restaurant in Rosemont in front of two of their children.

"As part of the marriage proposal, Kaper told Rosanova-Kaper that if she changed her mind about marrying Kaper, she was to return the ring," according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. "Rosanova-Kaper agreed with this condition."

But Rosanova-Kaper broke off the engagement in 2002, and "adamantly refused" to return the 5.03-carat ring, the lawsuit says.

Rosanova-Kaper could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Kaper said in the lawsuit that he paid $70,000 for the ring. But the ring was appraised at $89,000 in 1999 and is now worth at least $98,000, the suit says.

The couple were married in 1964 and divorced in 1989, according to the lawsuit.

Would you really want to go to these measures to get the ring back that once meant so much to your other half or is it just a case of sour grape