A spurned spouse in Mississippi was recently awarded $750,000 under the theory that a rich business man committed alienation of affection by luring the wife into an affair with him. Mississippi is only one of 7 states that still recognize the theory whereby a person can claim someone stole their wife or husband and recover damages. The claim is rooted in the antiquated notion that a woman is is her husband’s property.
Most states, including Iowa, have abolished alienation of affection as a basis for lawsuits.
While there was no mention whether the wife divorced the husband, the article did state that the wife “chose” the rich paramour over her plumber husband. Good thing the paramour is worth $22 million; he has a hefty judgment to pay and an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.