Raleigh Family Lawyers report: NC spurned spouse receives generous settlement

During the week of March 15, 2010, a North Carolina jury awarded an aggrieved wife $9 million, to be paid by her ex-husband’s lover, under the alienation of affections law still on the books in this state. This law allows a spouse to seek damages against a third party who interferes in a marriage for the destruction of the marital relationship. The woman who was awarded the $9 million in damages appeared on Good Morning America on March 23, 2010 to spread the simple message “lay off.” Her story has received a lot of press coverage, mainly due to the monetary amount she received, and has revived the age-old saying hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

With regard to this case, the plaintiff, Cynthia Shackelford, 60, sued Anne Lundquiest, 49, for ruining her 33-year marriage to Allan Shackelford, 62. The suit claimed Lundquist carried out a “scheme to seduce and steal” Cynthia’s husband. During her appearance on Good Morning America, she told the audience, “My children are devastated. I’m devastated,” and that the once married couple will never be able to reminisce about the past or hope for their future again.

The jury’s decision on the sum awarded was based on several factors including her loss of financial and emotional support, loss of companionship and damages from undue stress.

Whether the scorned is a woman or a man, the desire to seek damages against an outside party responsible for ruining a marriage is natural; and thanks to a law that only a handful of states have on the books, retribution is possible. The alienation of affection law is typically used by the innocent spouse against the guilty spouse’s lover, but can, depending on the state, also reach out to someone such as an in-law or other relative who can be proven responsible for contributing to the demise of a relationship. The states that allow these lawsuits, along with North Carolina, are Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota and Utah.

The steps to winning an alienation of affection suit include proving:
a. that love existed between the spouses
b. that the spouses love was alienated or destroyed
c. that a third party’s malicious conduct contributed to the demise of the relationship, and
d. that the plaintiff suffered injury and damages

The plaintiff must convince a jury that the third party willfully and maliciously interfered with the marriage in order to win damages. North Carolina currently averages 200 of these claims a year, and according to Raleigh Divorce Lawyers Gailor, Wallis and Hunt, “juries have often been generous in alienation of affections” cases. In 1997, a Greensboro jury awarded $1 million to a wife crossed by her husband and his secretary, based on damages such as loss of income, life insurance, and pension benefits, along with loss of consortium, mental anguish and humiliation. In 2001, a North Carolina jury ordered $2 million to be paid to Christine Cooper of Greensboro, by a man’s mistress. Yet another jury awarded $1.4 million paid to Thomas Oddo in a suit filed against his wife’s lover.

In the event that a marriage goes sour, and there is a third party involved, the alienation of affections law can be a viable means to obtain justice. It not only sends a message to the spouse and third party that their actions were morally and legally wrong, but also validates the notion that there are serious consequences to these behaviors..

North Carolina divorce attorneys Gailor, Wallis & Hunt, have dedicated their lives to helping men and women work through the divorce process, and are knowledgeable and experienced in all of the issues relevant to alienation of affections lawsuits. GWH offers knowledge, skill and experience in the many areas of family law that is second to none.