Alabama Jury Awards Damages in Diamond-Swap Case

A Montgomery County jury has awarded a woman more than $30,000 in damages after she accused a jeweler of swapping a diamond she wanted to re-purpose with one of lesser value.

WSFA-TV reported that the Alabama jury awarded DeeDee Nolan $6,500 in compensatory damages and $25,000 in punitive damages in her suit against Marquirette’s Exquisite Jewelry.

Nolan’s attorney Kenny Mendelsohn has said she took the diamond, a family heirloom, to the jeweler to have it re-purposed into an engagement ring for her son. Mendelsohn says the jewelers then gave her a diamond that was a different size, color and quality than the original.

The jeweler has denied Nolan’s allegations. Store owner Lyle Fields said the store failed to follow protocol before putting the diamond in a new setting.