Alleging alienation of affection and intentional affliction of emotional distress, a man has filed a personal injury lawsuit against another man for engaging his wife in an adulterous affair, which resulted in her leaving her family, as reported by the Deseret News.
The man, of Riverton, Utah, is asking for $1.5 million in damages from the defendant.
The lawsuit was filed in the Third District Court and names the defendant, a former Utah resident now living in Idaho, as guilty not only for breaking up the marriage, but also causing the wife to abandon her two children to live with the defendant.
The lawsuit contends that the defendant knew the woman was married, had two children – both under the age of 18 – when he began the affair with her in 2010. By September 15, 2011, the woman left Utah, abandoned her family, and moved with the man to Burley, Idaho.
The suit states, “At all times during the affair, defendant knew that plaintiff was entitled to the lawful, natural and conjugal rights and privileges with his spouse, which included, but are not limited to love, companionship, services, income and comfort that form the foundation of a marriage” and that the children would loose a “family life with two parents.”
The suit states that the affair itself was the “controlling cause of the deterioration of (the man's) marital relationship.”
The lawsuit puts the blame of the woman’s desertion squarely on the shoulders of the defendant by stating, “Defendant's pattern of conduct pursuing (the wife) and the illicit affair intentionally or recklessly caused foreseeable harm to plaintiff and the children. At all times defendant knew that his conduct was targeted, certain and inevitable to alienate the affection of (wife) toward plaintiff and the children.”
For alienation of affection the suit seeks $250,000 in damages, for intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress the suit asks for an additional $250,000. And, in punitive damages, the suit requests $1 million.
In purposely setting out to “destroy” the marriage, and family unit, the suit alleges that the defendant “committed a pattern of secretive acts deliberately hidden…Defendant’s conduct is reprehensible, not acceptable by any standards in this community and should be made an example of so as to deter like-minded individuals.”
The victim’s attorney, James Ziter, said that though these types of cases are “very uncommon” the injuries and pains are the same as any other personal injury claim.
Ziter said, “For plaintiffs in these types of lawsuits they suffer financial damages because of the interference and that's what generates these kinds of lawsuits.”
Of note is that the alleged affair occurred in the state of Utah – one of seven states in the U.S. that allows claims for alienation of affection. Ziter added, “It's certainly a law of action alive and well in the state of Utah.”
A personal injury lawyer is the most knowledgeable of the laws that govern your state. If you believe you have the case of a personal injury, whether the injury is physical or emotional, visible or unseen, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case today!