OPINION
T1 Plaintiff Layne D. Hess appeals the trial court's order dismissing his complaint, with prejudice, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, see Utah R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Defendant Jody Johnston cross-appeals, arguing that the trial court committed error when it denied her motion for sanctions under rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, see Utah R. Civ. P. 11. We affirm.
BACKGROUND 1
12 Hess and Johnston started dating in mid-April 2004 and within three months, they decided to marry. Johnston found an engagement ring she liked, and Hess commissioned a jeweler to craft one like it. The couple planned to marry sometime in November 2004, but mutually decided that they would take their time in planning the wedding to ensure their finances were in order.
T3 About this time, Johnston told Hess that, during their engagement, she wanted to go on some trips and wanted Hess to have a vasectomy. Hess complied with these requests. Hess began by paying for the couple to take a seven-day cruise to Alaska at the end of July. In August, Hess underwent the vasectomy procedure requested by Johnston. And in September, after Johnston expressed an interest in traveling to France to introduce Hess to friends she had met while living there years earlier, Hess paid for the couple to travel to France for three weeks. Before leaving on the trip, Hess paid the balance on the custom engagement ring so that he could present Johnston with it while in France. After returning from France, Hess and Johnston twice rescheduled the wedding, first, from November 2004 to May 5, 2005, and then to July 9, 2005. In October 2004, Johnston also asked Hess to help purchase a vehicle for her son. Hess contributed $2400 toward the automobile.
14 In late April 2005, without any forewarning or explanation, Johnston returned the engagement ring to Hess and informed him that she would not be his wife. Hess attempted, numerous times, to obtain an explanation from Johnston, but she refused to offer any exeuse for breaking off the engagement.
ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW
16 Johnston contends that it was error for the trial court to deny her motion for sanctions under rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, see Utah R. Civ. P. 11.
[The standard of review for evaluating the denial or imposition of rule 11 sanctions involves a three-tiered approach: "(1) findings of fact are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard; (2) legal conclusions are reviewed under the correction of error standard; and (8) the type and amount of sanctions to be imposed [are] reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard."
Morse v. Packer,
17 Hess argues that the trial court erred when it granted Johnston's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under rule 12(b)(6) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, see Utah R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). "A [rlule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss admits the facts alleged in the complaint but challenges the plaintiffs right to relief based on those facts." Oakwood Vill. L.L.C. v. Albertsons, Inc.,
ANALYSIS
I. Rule 11 Sanctions
T8 Johnston contends that because the Utah Supreme Court has abolished the cause of action for breach of a promise to marry, Hess's claims were frivolous and merited sanctions under rule 11. Rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure provides in relevant part:
(b) ... By presenting a pleading, written motion, or other paper to the court ... an attorney or unrepresented party is certifying that to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the cireum-stances,
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(b)(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions therein are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new lawl.]
Utah R. Civ. P. 11(b). However, "[rJule 11 does not impose a duty to do perfect or exhaustive research. The appropriate standard is whether the research was objectively reasonable under all the cireumstances." Barnard v. Sutliff,
T9 Johnston argues that Jackson v. Brown,
10 In Jackson, the Utah Supreme Court examined the common law cause of action for breach of a promise to marry. See
1 11 Despite abolishing the cause of action for breach of a promise to marry, the Jackson court specifically left open the question of whether economic damages arising from a broken engagement could ever be recovered under alternate legal theories. All the justices agreed that, despite abolishing the cause of action for breach of a promise to marry, "no injury to a plaintiff, upon proper showing, goes unremedied." Id. at 687. A majority of the court, however, postponed deciding which legal theories would support recovery of economic damages stemming from a broken engagement. See id. at 688 (Stewart, J., concurring, joined by Zimmerman, C.J. & Russon, J.) (stating that the issue of what theories would support a recovery of economic damages "should be addressed ... only when it is properly presented to [the clourt and properly argued by the parties"). Alternatively, Justice Durham, joined by Justice Howe, anticipated the question and suggested that "any economic losses suffered because of [plaintiffs] reasonable reliance upon [defendant's] promise to marry . may be recoverable under a theory of reasonable reliance or breach of contract." Id. at 687 (Durham, J., concurring, joined by Howe, J.).
1 12 Because Jackson did not clearly foreclose claims for purely economic damages, we cannot say that Hess's reading of the law, alone, supports the conclusion that he did not make a reasonable inquiry into the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions contained in the complaint. Rule 11 does not "require the attorney to reach the correct legal position from the research. It is enough that the attorney's reading of the law
II. Failure to State a Claim
1 13 Despite finding that Jackson does not clearly bar his claims, we nonetheless affirm the trial court's dismissal of Hess's complaint because the facts as alleged cannot support recovery under any of the theories pleaded. Cf. Griffith v. Griffith,
A. Conditional Gift
T14 Assuming, without deciding, that Utah would allow recovery of engagement gifts under a theory of conditional gift, Hess's claims fail as a matter of law because he has not alleged facts that could establish that the travel, vasectomy, 3 or money for the vehicle were conditioned on the marriage taking place. 4 Instead, Hess urges this court to adopt the position that any gift given during the engagement period carries an implied condition of marriage. We decline to do so. If we were to imply a condition on all gifts given during the engagement period, every gift would be recoverable regardless of the size, cost, significance, or nature of the gift, and without regard to the surrounding cireumstances under which the gift was given.
Surely, the donor will give some gifts during the engagement period that are intended as absolute gifts. However, with an implied condition, the donor would have to expressly indicate that he does not expect the gift back in order to make an absolute gift .... turn[ing] traditional gift law on its head.
Cooper v. Smith,
1 15 Because we do not accept Hess's contention that all gifts given during the engagement period carry an implied condition of marriage, and because "one asserting the delivery [of a gift] was made on some condition ... has the burden of establishing such condition" as an element of recovery under a conditional gift theory, Fierro v. Hoel,
116 Hess's complaint states that, in retrospect, Hess would not have made the expenditures but for Johnston's promise to marry him. But this assertion, relying on hindsight, even if true, is not sufficient to establish that the gifts were conditioned on the marriage taking place. "Whether a gift is conditional or absolute is a question of the donor's intent, to be determined from any express declaration by the donor at the time of the making of the gift or from the civreum-stances." 38 Am.Jur2d Gifts § 72 (1999) {emphasis added).
T 17 Here, Hess's complaint fails to include any facts that could demonstrate, either expressly, by the cireumstances, or by the nature of the gifts that his intent was to condition the gifts on the marriage taking place. Cf. Mace v. Tingey,
{18 Finally, the nature of the gifts does not give rise to an inference that they were inherently conditional. Some jurisdictions have recognized that gifts, like engagement rings, carry with them an implied condition of marriage due to the inherent symbolism of the gift. See, eg., Fierro,
19 Thus, even if Utah recognized recovery under a theory of conditional gift, which we do not decide today, Hess's claim for recovery would be barred because none of the alleged facts support the conclusion that at the time he made the gifts, he did not intend for them to take effect until the marriage ensued. Instead, the facts alleged in the complaint ean only be read to support the conclusion that Hess intended an unconditional gift. We do recognize that the alleged facts suggest that the reason Hess gave the unconditional gifts was because he and Johnston were engaged. However, the reason for a gift should not be confused with a donor's intent that the gift be revokable. " 'Many gifts are made for reasons that sour with the passage of time' Unfortunately, gift law does not allow a donor to recover/revoke an inter vivos gift simply because his or her reasons for giving it have 'soured.'" Cooper v. Smith,
B. Unjust Enrichment
%20 Hess's complaint does not allege facts sufficient to sustain a claim for restitution under a theory of unjust enrichment. To state a claim for unjust enrich ment, a plaintiff must allege facts supporting three elements: "(1) a benefit conferred on one person by another; (2) an appreciation or knowledge by the conferee of the benefit; and (3) the acceptance or retention of the benefit under such cireumstances as to make it inequitable for the conferee to retain the benefit without payment of its value." Jeffs v. Stubbs,
T21 Unjust enrichment occurs when a person has and retains money or benefits that in justice and equity belong to another; however, "[the fact that a person benefits another is not itself sufficient to require the other to make restitution." Fowler v. Taylor,
C. Promissory Estoppel 7
122 Like unjust enrichment, promissory estoppel is an equitable remedy and should be employed where injustice can be avoided only by enforcement of the promise. To state a claim for promissory estop-pel, Hess must allege four elements:
(1) [tlhe plaintiff acted with prudence and in reasonable reliance on a promise made by the defendant; (2) the defendant knew that the plaintiff had relied on the promise which the defendant should reasonably expect to induce action or forbearance on the part of the plaintiff or a third person; (8) the defendant was aware of all material facts; and (4) the plaintiff relied on the promise and the reliance resulted in a loss to the plaintiff.
Youngblood v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co.,
123 A promise to marry is unique in that it is not generally considered enforceable, but instead is made for the purpose of "allow[ing] a couple time to test the perma-neney of their feelings." Fierro v. Hoel,
D. Breach of Contract
124 Similarly, even assuming without deciding that Jackson v. Brown,
125 Hess does not allege that Johnston made any promise to repay him if the marriage did not ensue; she never promised to pay for half of the travel, or to bear the cost of the vehicle herself. The only promise Johnston made was to marry Hess. Thus, in order to recover general damages, Hess would be required to show that the damages or injuries he sustained "flow[ed] naturally from the breach" of that promise. Machan v. UNUM Life Ins. Co. of Am.,
CONCLUSION
126 Rule 11 sanctions are inappropriate where, as here, counsel's interpretation of existing law is reasonable and there is no other evidence demonstrating counsel's failure to make a reasonable inquiry required by rule 11. Therefore, the trial court's denial of Johnston's motion for sanctions was proper. It was also proper for the trial court to dismiss Hess's complaint because the facts alleged could not support recovery of restitution under any of the grounds pleaded.
T27 Affirmed.
1 28 WE CONCUR: JAMES Z. DAVIS and GREGORY K. ORME, Judges.
Notes
. In considering the correctness of an order dismissing a complaint, we assume the truthfulness of each of the facts alleged by plaintiff See Oakwood Vill. L.L.C. v. Albertsons, Inc.,
. Because Johnston's argument raises a question of law, we review it for correctness under the second tier of the rule 11 standard of review. See Barnard v. Sutliff,
. Under the facts of this case, it is not necessary to address whether a vasectomy, undertaken by one person in a relationship, can ever be a "gift" to the other person in the relationship.
. We note the possible exception of the engagement ring. See, e.g., Fierro v. Hoel,
. Johnston had already undergone a tubal ligation, but remained concerned about the possibility of pregnancy.
. Hess has not alleged that Johnston fraudulently promised to marry him.
. Hess also characterizes his claim for promissory estoppel as a claim of reasonable reliance. We, therefore, treat them together under the rubric of promissory estoppel.
. After all,
[wJhat fact justifies the breaking of an engagement? The absence of a sense of humor? Differing musical tastes? Differing political views? The painfully learned fact that marriages are made on earth, not in heaven. They must be approached with intelligent care and should not happen without a decent assurance of success. When either party lacks that assurance, for whatever reason, the engagement should be broken. No justification is needed. Either party may act. Fault, impossible to fix, does not count.
Fierro v. Hoel,
. Hess does allege that in late 2004 the couple eventually set an actual wedding date for May 5, 2005. However, at the time the trips were taken, the vasectomy was performed, and the money was given to Johnston's son, the couple had not yet set an actual date for a wedding but were, instead, tentatively planning to marry sometime in November 2004.
. As noted in Jackson v. Brown,
