Sued for Adultery
So, I found this article on yahoo while checking my emails and so I checked out the internet.
In North Carolina, Cynthia Shackelford sued her husband’s mistress, Anne Lundquist, under the “Alien of Affections” law stating that the woman deliberately seduced her husband and destroyed her marriage. A jury has demanded that Ms. Shackelford’s husband’s paramour, Anne Lundquist, pay Ms. Shackelford $5 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages.
According to the wikipedia:
Alienation of affections first appeared in New York as a tort law in 1864. It was set up to protect a man’s property (wives were apparently considered property back then). So, if another man came and stole the husband’s wife, the husband could sue that man. Since 1935, this law has been abolished in 42 states. Alienation is still recognized in Hawaii, Illinois, North Carolina, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah.
An action for alienation of affection does not require proof of extramarital sex. An alienation claim is difficult to establish because it comprises several elements and there are several defenses. To succeed on an alienation claim, the plaintiff has to show that (1) the marriage entailed love between the spouses in some degree; (2) the spousal love was alienated and destroyed; and (3) defendant’s malicious conduct contributed to or caused the loss of affection. It is not necessary to show that the defendant set out to destroy the marital relationship, but only that he or she intentionally engaged in acts which would foreseeably impact on the marriage.
That’s just craziness. As if the husband didn’t do anything.
