Suing for adultery

[jt123thomp]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA

My sister has been going through an ugly divorce. My sister is being sued for adultery now in Feb. The divorce was suppose to be settled Jan 5th but he didn't sign the papers and told her it was settled. He then had a private investigator follow her and my sister took my nephew, his friend, my niece, and her boyfriend on a vacation for my nephews 21st birthday. It was paid for by a friend of the family, which had previously been with my sister 8 years ago in a relationship and now is just a friend. Her husband has pictures of the family and a picture of just them eating food alone. There are four of them that were there and witnessed him staying in the hotel with my nephew and his friend, while my sister slept with her daughter and her boyfriend in a separate room. There was no adultery committed.

Questions
1. Can he win for this accusation of adultery?
2. Is it possible to counter sue for either compensatory or punitive damages due to the distress of going back to court and spending time, money for court and lawyer fees, and more distress?

 

[Ohiogal]

It is possible he could win on adultery. Depends on what evidence he has and presents.

 

[mistoffolees]

It would be helpful if you explain what you mean by 'suing for adultery'. You can't sue for adultery. You can use adultery as grounds for divorce. Is that what you mean?

And what is the issue? You said they're already going through a divorce. The grounds used doesn't matter in terms of getting the divorce, but it can affect alimony. In Virginia, adultery can completely eliminate alimony, but there's an exception based on whether the adultery affected the marriage. If they had already filed for divorce and were living apart when the adultery occurred, that might or might not fall into that exception.
Virginia Spousal Support Law ~ Law Office of Diane Fener ~ Virginia Divorce Law Attorneys, Lawyers

Similarly, if adultery led to the dissolution of the marriage, it can affect property division. It is not clear how much impact adultery after the divorce filing and parties moving out would have - and probably depends on the specific judge.

And, as Ohiogal says, it also comes down to what evidence is out there. Can he PROVE adultery? If she really is innocent, she may have to bring her boyfriend in to testify that there was no adultery.

In any event, I would definitely be looking for a good attorney.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA

My sister has been going through an ugly divorce. My sister is being sued for adultery now in Feb. The divorce was suppose to be settled Jan 5th but he didn't sign the papers and told her it was settled. He then had a private investigator follow her and my sister took my nephew, his friend, my niece, and her boyfriend on a vacation for my nephews 21st birthday. It was paid for by a friend of the family, which had previously been with my sister 8 years ago in a relationship and now is just a friend. Her husband has pictures of the family and a picture of just them eating food alone. There are four of them that were there and witnessed him staying in the hotel with my nephew and his friend, while my sister slept with her daughter and her boyfriend in a separate room. There was no adultery committed.

Questions
1. Can he win for this accusation of adultery?
2. Is it possible to counter sue for either compensatory or punitive damages due to the distress of going back to court and spending time, money for court and lawyer fees, and more distress?

Whose boyfriend is the bolded above? Mom's, or her daughter's?