Alienation of Affections

October 4, 2009

An alienation of affection suit seeks damages against a person who has alienated the affections of one spouse from the other spouse.

October 04, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Alienation of Affections

Article provided by Breeden Law
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A Legal Concept Alive and Well in North Carolina

For many people, the legal term "alienation of affections" is a throwback to a bygone era when divorce was rarer and harder to obtain. In reality, there are more than 200 alienation of affections lawsuits filed each year in North Carolina.

That number is a small percentage of all divorce filings each year -- a little over 0.5 percent -- but it is still about double the number of product liability suits filed each year and approximately three-fourths of the total of wrongful death lawsuits. In the last dozen years, there have been at least two awards of $1 million or more in alienation of affections lawsuits.

An alienation of affection suit seeks damages against a person who has alienated the affections of one spouse from the other spouse. The lawsuit is typically brought against a spouse's lover by the jilted spouse. It can in other cases be brought against a relative or friend or other person who has alienated the affections of a married person for their spouse.

There's a three-year statute of limitations on these alienation lawsuits, meaning the spouse bringing the lawsuit (plaintiff) must do so within three years of the acts (typically a physically intimate affair) that caused the alienation.

The alienation suit can be based on acts other than adultery, however. It is an action against a person who has maliciously committed wrongful acts intended to alienate one spouse's affections for the other spouse.

In order for the defendant to be liable for damages, the plaintiff must prove that the acts in question caused the loss of affection. Meaning, if not for the actions or behavior of the other party (the defendant), the relationship would not have been alienated. Often in these types of cases, the defendant will try to prove to the court that the marriage was actually over because of the behavior of the spouse bringing the lawsuit and not due to the defendant's behavior; even if the defendant had not conducted themselves in a certain manner, the marriage would have been over. It is up to the plaintiff to show that the defendant alienated his or her marriage.

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