A state appeals court says a judge in Kona should not have found in favor of a woman whose jilted fiance sued to get back the engagement ring he gave her.

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals on Thursday sent the case back to Kona Circuit Court for further proceedings.

Patrick Bradley sued Kristin Sharp in 2014, 1-1/2 months after Sharp broke off their engagement and refused to return the $78,300 custom-designed ring he gave her. Bradley said he gave Sharp, who is at least 30 years his junior, the engagement ring conditional on their marriage because he was always cautious about her obsession with his money.

In court papers asking to have the case decided in her favor without a trial, Sharp said Bradley gave her the ring in June 2014 as a gift for her birthday and Christmas, even though both were months away. She submitted a declaration from a witness who said she heard Bradley tell Sharp the ring was a Christmas and birthday present.

Bradley said the witness wasn’t even in the restaurant when he proposed marriage to Sharp and gave her the engagement ring.

Then-Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra sided with Sharp. In his 2016 order he said the engagement ring was a completed gift, not a conditional gift as Bradley claimed.

Bradley appealed, contending that Ibarra should not have decided the case without a trial because there are genuine issues of material fact as to the purpose and intent of the ring.

The ICA said given the conflicting evidence, it agrees.