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Curious about any suit possible

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Changenme

New member
Idaho
Husband of 15 years had an affair with co worker. I caught him. He talked me into working on marriage. My husband battled addiction. She gave my husband drugs. He lost sobriety. He quit job. Was sober 10 days , I thought.
He got up took his own life. I found him.
He tested positive for drugs at hospital. Cops searched my house no drugs. They took guns, returned them to me later. Cops found a detailed letter from husband, stating she was getting high with him. Details of affair .
She was arrested shortly before his death for drugs.
I believe he would still be alive, possibly divorced, but alive. If she was not getting him high. Or sleeping with him. I believe he was not in his right mind. His thinking was altered by the drugs.
Is there a law suit here? I want her arrested for adult and the len bias law also.
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
I'm sorry for your loss and my condolences to the interference in your life this woman has caused. Please don't take the following the wrong way:

You don't have the right to have anybody arrested. You can certainly talk to the police or prosecutor about her criminal activity, but do not be surprised if they don't find things compelling enough to go forward. Adultery and affairs are either not illegal any more or not the kind of things that are generally prosecuted. It appears they're already on her for drug possession so there's little more to be done.

As for her contribution to your husband's death, that's going to be hard to show a causal relationship. It's going to be near impossible as far as any sort of criminal charge would go. It's even sketchy for a civil action. You can take all you have to an attorney to see what he thinks. The problem is that drug addicts like this woman don't typically have much to lose, so you can spend a lot of money on legal fees suing her and even if you win you'll get nothing from her.
 

Changenme

New member
I'm not taking it the wrong way. Thank you for condolence. I was curious. I know I have no right to it. I just would like her held accountable. Idaho adultry is illegal. I have not read the letter my husband left behind. The cops have not released that to me yet. But my understanding is it is very detailed. On drugs and affair. I know she has nothing probably never will. She claims and announced she is pregnant. She seems to think I want to know. I have hired an attorney. Since she wants to be informing me of her life. My attorney believes there is enough to proceed with what we understand is in the letter, people who knew saw etc. I just was CV curious opinions. I'm trying to decide on proceeding . It would be just to have her held accountable so she doesn't or thinks twice before coming between anyone else's relationship. I know I would never see a dime if I won.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
As I stated, adultery is rarely prosecuted (even though it's a pretty serious crime and still on the books) in Idaho (and the other states in which it still exists as a crime). Again, it's unlikely the state is going to be interested in prosecuting her and there's nothing you can do to force them to do so.
 
E

Edgar 1776

Guest
There is the civil tort of alienation of affection (outsider who interferes with a marriage )but only a few states still allow alienation of affection lawsuits, and I believe that judicial decisions abolished this tort in Idaho, so this would not be available.

If he had died of an overdose from drugs that you could prove she gave him with the intent to cause harm, you might could explore the idea of a lawsuit or even criminal charges in some jurisdictions. However, if he took his own life these options are not going to work.
I'm so sorry for your loss and wish your family well.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Is there a law suit here? I want her arrested for adult and the len bias law also.
There is no lawsuit for her having an affair with your husband. The Idaho courts eliminated that possibility back in 1993. The courts had by then already eliminated the tort of alienation of affection, and the 1993 ruling did away with the other tort for interfering with the marriage relationship known as criminal conversation. In that case the court expressly rejects any cause of action based on interfering with the marriage relationship and also stated that the fact that adultry is still a crime did not prevent the elimination of the civil claims. Specifically, the court stated:

Further, we conclude that the fact that adultery remains punishable by criminal statute does not prevent the judicial abolition of the civil tort of criminal conversation. A civil action for criminal conversation arises from the violation of a private right, and is distinct from a criminal action for adultery, which seeks recompense for a public wrong. Thus, the existence of a criminal statute proscribing adultery does not prevent the elimination of the civil cause of action for criminal conversation. See, e.g., Kline v. Ansell, 287 Md. 585, 414 A.2d 929 (Md.1980); Lynn v. Shaw, 620 P.2d 899, 903 n. 13 (Okl.1980).
For the reasons explained above, we hold that Idaho civil law does not afford a party an actionable right to exclusive sexual intercourse with his or her spouse. In so holding, we extend the Idaho Supreme Court's rationale in O'Neil to abolish the tort of criminal conversation. Because Mary's alternative theories for recovery—tortious invasion of privacy and tortious interference with contract—seek damages for the infringement of that same right, these claims similarly must fail. We conclude, therefore, that the district court correctly dismissed appellant's claims to recover for the interference with and invasion of her right to an exclusive sexual relationship.

Neal v. Neal, 125 Idaho 627, 632, 873 P.2d 881, 886 (Ct. App. 1993), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 125 Idaho 617, 873 P.2d 871 (1994).

I will also note that prosecutions for the crime of adultry Idaho have not occurred in decades. Indeed, all the appellate court cases cited in my annotated code are all from 1935 or earlier. Adultry is simply not any longer viewed as something should involved the courts. Instead, it is viewed as an issue for the two married persons to resolve.

There might be some cause of action here if you can prove she knowingly drove him to suicide, but that's really tough to do, especially in the facts you've provided. You might want to see a personal injury lawyer to see if there might be anything worth suing her for. By the way, if the woman is hooked on drugs my bet is that she doesn't have a whole lot of money or other assets. And if she's got nothing you can attach then the lawsuit won't get you anything.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I am sorry for your loss, Changenme.

Although the following does not apply to you, I thought I would add it to let others know that, while adultery no longer results in criminal prosecutions and is not a good basis for civil actions in most (if not all) states, where adultery can make a difference is in divorce cases, where it can be a factor considered in alimony awards and property divisions and, sometimes, in custody.

I hope you seek counseling. A suicide often leaves survivors with a lot of questions but no good answers.
 

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