Alienation Affections

If you are a victim of the intentional or negligent actions of a spouse who causes emotional distress to you, it is possible to get divorced and recover damages.Intentional emotional distress occurs when a spouse's conduct is reckless or intentional.

The law allows individuals to sue others for ruining their marriages. While most states got rid of it years ago, it's still on the books in Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.The law has since evolved, such that women can now sue.

You may file a suit charging the other man or the other woman with intentionally interfering in your marital relationship. The adultery itself is not the crime; it is the actions of the other man or woman that determines whether a law has been broken.

Ask the Lawyer: Can you sue someone for adultery?A: Adultery is illegal in some states, but not in California. Although it may not be moral, your friend cannot be sued for adultery, or so-called alienation of affection (in other words, causing the marital break-up).

To file your complaint and initiate your lawsuit, you generally have to pay filing fees, typically around $200. If you cannot afford the filing fees, you can ask the clerk for an application to have them waived.

This common law tort is abolished in several jurisdictions. In fact, only a few states in the United States still allow alienation of affection lawsuits. These states include Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.

This is a very common question, but a pretty uncommon scenario. Depending on where you live, you may be able to file suit against the other woman (or man) through one of two types of civil tort claims criminal conversation or alienation of affection.

Proving an alienation of affection claim? In order to win an alienation of affection claim, the plaintiff must prove: (1) that the defendant engaged in wrongful conduct; (2) that the plaintiff suffered loss of affection or consortium; and (3) that the defendant's conduct was the cause of the loss.

Today, less than 15% of states recognize Alienation of Affection as a viable case, but Mississippi has protected all things related to traditional marriage for a long time.

There are two ways of suing a third party who broke up your marriage. The first is where the third party is cited as co-defendant in the main divorce summons and the other way is where the third party is sued alone, without the plaintiff's spouse even being cited as a defendant.