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alienation of affections

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M

mom-in-pa

Guest
My husband is having an affair. Can I sue the person to whom he is having the affair with in Pennsylvania?
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
mom-in-pa said:
My husband is having an affair. Can I sue the person to whom he is having the affair with in Pennsylvania?
My response:

Absolutely. You can sue anyone, for any thing, in any State. The better question is, "Can I win a lawsuit for Alienation of affections"?

And, the answer to that, insofar as Pennsylvania is concerned is, no.

Alienation of Affection is a tort claim for willful or malicious interference with a marriage by a third party without justification or excuse. This tort is recognized in only nine states (as of October 1999).


States (plus D.C.) which have statutorially ABOLISHED alienation of affection:

Alamaba
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming


States which have judicially abolished alienation of affection:

Idaho (1986)
Iowa (1981)
Kentucky (1992)
South Carolina (1992)
Washington (1980)


States in which alienation of affection is a viable cause of action:

Hawaii
Illinois
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Carolina
South Dakota
Utah

Ohio does not permit monetary recovery for alientation of affection (by statute), Louisiana never recognized it as a cause of action and Alaska does not have case law or statutes which clearly address the issue.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 12-10-2000 at 07:25 PM]
 

LegalBeagle

Senior Member
IAAL, I give you 9.5/10 for trying.. but you missed one section.. states that have awarded damages for AOA.. I will give you NC since that is the easy one.. I will not allow SC since they no longer have the statute .. two others that I can think of..

 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
LegalBeagle said:
IAAL, I give you 9.5/10 for trying.. but you missed one section.. states that have awarded damages for AOA.. I will give you NC since that is the easy one.. I will not allow SC since they no longer have the statute .. two others that I can think of..

My response:

Whether or not a State has ever awarded AOA wasn't my criteria. SC is in my Judicially "Abolished" column.

Do I get my point rating upped ?

IAAL
 
C

curlyq's mom

Guest
To IAAL: Just curious, is this law only for marrieds or is it also for established relationships (with children)?
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
curlyq's mom said:
To IAAL: Just curious, is this law only for marrieds or is it also for established relationships (with children)?
My response:

Depends. What's your State name ?

In California, unmarried relationships have no legal standing - - e.g., boyfriend / girlfriend, even with children. Since California is not a Common Law Marriage State, it definately wouldn't wash.

So, that's why we always need a State name. It could be, and for all I know, that you live in a Common Law State, and if so, your State could be one of the 9 States that have these "heartbalm statutes" (Alienation of Affection being one of them).

IAAL
 

LegalBeagle

Senior Member
I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:
My response:

Whether or not a State has ever awarded AOA wasn't my criteria. SC is in my Judicially "Abolished" column.

Do I get my point rating upped ?

IAAL
I know it was not your criteria, but your answer was so good I thought you were going for completeness. My answer to the poster would just have been 'no'. Ok, I will let you have the 10.. the two other states that have awarded damages are Mississippi & Missouri.

Can you imagine if AR had the heartbalm statutes on its books ??
 
C

curlyq's mom

Guest
To IAAL:

(This might accidentally post twice - did something goofy.)
I'm in IL, my guess not a common-law state. What are the 9 states that are? I found this to be interesting. What are the ground rules?
 

LegalBeagle

Senior Member
curlyq's mom said:
To IAAL:

(This might accidentally post twice - did something goofy.)
I'm in IL, my guess not a common-law state. What are the 9 states that are? I found this to be interesting. What are the ground rules?
Alabama
The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) capacity; (2) an agreement to be husband and wife; and (3) consummation of the marital relationship.

Colorado
A common-law marriage may be established by proving cohabitation and a reputation of being married.

District of Columbia
The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) an express, present intent to be married and (2) cohabitation.

Iowa
The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) intent and agreement to be married; (2) continuous cohabitation; and (3) public declarations that the parties are husband and wife.

Kansas
For a man and woman to form a common-law marriage, they must: (1) have the mental capacity to marry; (2) agree to be married at the present time; and (3) represent to the public that they are married.

Montana
The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) capacity to consent to the marriage; (2) an agreement to be married; (3) cohabitation; and (4) a reputation of being married.

Oklahoma
To establish a common-law marriage, a man and woman must (1) be competent; (2) agree to enter into a marriage relationship; and (3) cohabit.

Pennsylvania
A common-law marriage may be established if a man and woman exchange words that indicate that they intend to be married at the present time.

Rhode Island
The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) serious intent to be married and (2) conduct that leads to a reasonable belief in the community that the man and woman are married.

South Carolina
A common-law marriage is established if a man and woman intend for others to believe they are married.

Texas
A man and woman who want to establish a common-law marriage must sign a form provided by the county clerk. In addition, they must (1) agree to be married, (2) cohabit, and (3) represent to others that they are married.

Utah
For a common-law marriage, a man and woman must (1) be capable of giving consent and getting married; (2) cohabit; and (3) have a reputation of being husband and wife.
 

B56

Junior Member
Can a Spouse that resides in a state that doesn’t recognize Alienation of Affection (SC), bring a law suite against another spouse that resides in a state (NC) that does recognize the law? Also how does this pertain to Criminal conversation?
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
B56 said:
Can a Spouse that resides in a state that doesn’t recognize Alienation of Affection (SC), bring a law suite against another spouse that resides in a state (NC) that does recognize the law? Also how does this pertain to Criminal conversation?
START YOUR OWN THREAD. DO NOT REOPEN A THREAD THAT IS OVER FIVE YEARS OLD!
 

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