October 26, 2007
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Suing a Cheater
A plumber sued a millionaire and won more than $750,000 when the millionaire stole his wife.
In Mississippi, a person can sue for “alienation of affection” if someone takes off with his/her spouse. Mississippi, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah are the only states that allow suits for a stolen wife or husband.
The man said his marriage was normal until the guy “entered the picture.” His wife has said she began the affair because she was “unhappy in her marriage.” Here is the link: Link
Do you think a person should be able to sue if someone steals their spouse?
Comments (66)
YES…
I know a man that work with a guy that hired a hit man to damage his ex wife hubby’s balls. Today, he can’t have sex.
It depends on how much a spouse is worth.
If, like me, you believe that one cannot put a price tag on a relationship, then no.
Difficult to say, I’m not sure. I think more likely someone should be able to sue a spouse for cheating on them for emotional damages.
I’m sorry. I just automatically assumed the word “steal” should only be ascribed to inanimate objects. Lacking free will and the ability to make decisions. Maybe animals, too. Possessions in general. Meh.
Why not? Glad I live in Hawaii…but no one’s stealing my man
It’s as dumb as dirt, in my opinion! I also agree with what Little_Lady27 said!
isn’t it kind of his wife’s decision? sucks for him either way
Not necessarily. I agree with EarthsAzureLight in that. Personally, I hate to say that I think someone should be permitted to sue. In my view our society has become much too litigious as it is.
oh, dan, if you won’t tell us what you do for a living, at least tell us how you have so much time for xanga
fair compromise?
I agree with Another Rebel. What do you do?
Yes. A marriage document is a legal one.
yes. marriage definately needs to be taken more seriously than it is currently…
I think it’s the kind of punitive damage designed with public policy in mind, to further the viewpoint that marriage is sacred by discouraging divorces based on affairs.
I personally think that an affair is an awful reason to divorce. Not my cup of tea, though. It’s not the State’s place to imposes “good” and “bad” reasons for something statutorily.
I think it’s kind of lame.
No, you can’t entirely blame the person they have run off to, it was ultimately their spouse’s choice to stray. If it wasn’t them it would have been the next guy. Cry about it, eat a pint of ice cream, and move on to someone better. People will sue over just about anything.
Well, it is stealing!
oh, good lord.
your wife left you. suck it up.
It does sound rather idiotic to me.
Where do we draw the line on bringing morality into law.
I mean, if we killed all people with AIDS in the world, it would irradicate the disease, but it would be immortal (as it is genocide, which is illegal). But murder / genocide can be useful for society as a whole like this.
Note I am not saying we should kill all people with AIDS. I’m merely demonstrating, there are instances where immortal actions are written in our law books.
It sounds knid of dumb in general. But in this situation the wife might have left just to get more money. In this case, I might sue.
I agree with PreciousOnyx, marriage does need to be taken much more seriously.
“Mar-wig, mar-wig is what brwings us here to-day.”
That’s so stupid…
Though potentially very ludicrous.
I think I’m using these minis to much.
Can I sue the guy who was better in bed than me? Can I sue the guy who was better at making a woman happy than me? Can I sue guys who are more muscular, have larger penises, are funnier, make more money, are younger, dress better, and dance with more skill than me?
Can I just sue anyone who bests me? This sounds like the American Christian Family Values extension of chopping off a womans head in a football stadium who had cheated on her husband by the Taliban. The punishment is different, but the principal is exactly the same. These laws are completely ludicrous.
Ummm no. These laws are just silly. If anyone should be sued for alienation of affection is should be the person who cheated, not the person who was cheated with. If the woman had been truly happy in her marrige she wouldn’t have been cheating on her husband in the first place. It is cowardly for her to cheat instead of just leaving him when she wasn’t happy, but that is what she did. It is not the fault of the millionaire that the plumbers wife spread her legs for the guy with more money.
I have never understood people who get mad at the person a spouse/lover/bf/gf cheats with. Why are these people not mad at their spouse who made the agreement to be in a committed relationship?
I’m sure the ancient Greeks would have loved to be able to sue for the stealing of one’s wife.
I think it’s ridiculous. Spouse’s are people, not just possesions.
That’s silly… I’d be more likely to sue my spouse for leaving me, not to put all blame on the person he left me for. o_O
Noo.
Come on! You cant steal what you don’t own! So you OWN your spouse? He only sued because the other guy had money….if he was poor he wouldn’t have gotten anything, hes still not going to get anything….that will be tied up in court for years!
Definitely. Marriage is a sacred entity that should not be taken lightly…when someone interferes with that relationship, they are basically trespassing.
I don’t see how something can be stolen if it leaves voluntarily?
NO! A spouse is not chattel that you buy and sell! Good grief! They are “supposedly” an adult who has a free will, free spirit, and is able to make a decision on their own.
It has a nice tone of revenge to it.
I actually thought that was accepted everywhere. Although it does seem kind of outdated
Absolutely not.
Yes. People don’t know how to keep it in their pants. People treat marriage as a joke nowadays. I’m glad he sued and got the money he did.
If you say that the millionaire stole the wife, then that makes the wife nothing more than property and suggests the man took the wife against her will. That is wrong. The wife has a mind and a free will of her own and she chose to be with the millionaire over the plumber. Do I agree with her decision? NO. Do I condone home wrecking ? NO. At the same time, I do not think the plumber should have a cash settlement. The way the courts ruled is, the wife was property of the plumber and she was sold for $750,000.
Here’s my personal opinion..if your spouse goes after someone else then the vows of marriage meant nothing. Instead of spending all that money in attorney’s fees and court costs, they should be thanking their lucky stars that someone else is putting up with their crap. There was something like this one day on Dr. Phil.
Have a great weekend!
Keri
Little_Lady wins – people can’t be “stolen”.
I don’t think I can support suing people for infidelity but I think society as a whole doesn’t take it seriously enough.
Hell NO! People are NOT property to be argued over in a court of law! Good lord what in the hell is this world coming too?!
No… although you would think it would make people consider things a little more carefully if the sex was going to affect their pocket book.
YES but it should depend on how long and much you have vested in it.
Why would you need to sue someone? Get a divorce and get money that way if you’re that greedy.
And actually, I think suing them would corrode the meaning of marriage even more so, because people would use it just to get more money. If they accused their spouse of cheating convincingly enough, that is. So no one would get married because they’d be paranoid people would sue them to hell and back if they got angry or suspected cheating.
I think it’s kind of silly. But, maybe the ability for the shafted spouse to sue will make people be faithful to their spouses? It’s an interesting idea, anyway.
Yes! All states should allow people who get cheated on to sue! I’m completely for that!!! Let’s pass that law in Michigan!!! I’m giving you 5 stars for this one Dan!!
I hope not!
i think they should get divorced before they start something new. it’s their fault if they didn’t and suing is perfectly fine.
to sue is an odd way to go, but I think adultry should be illegal. It probably is in a lot of states but the law should be enforced
I think its nice that the plumber got something out of it, lol. But I also firmly agree spouses are not property and cannot be “stolen”. She chose to stray, Mr. Rich-and-sexy didn’t steal her. And assigning their marriage a monetary value is degrading. Marriage and love are invaluable, except in the case of cheating and abuse and false love, where $750,000 seems a high estimate of their failed relationships worth. He should have sued her for alimony or emotional distress instead. He shouldn’t be able to sue her new lover at all.
No. That’s stupid.
Depends on the situation.
No.
The nature and particulars of a couples marraige is between the two of them. On this basis, there is no room for the government to step in and enforce personal moralities.
I bet the plumber wouldn’t have sued if the guy was unemployed.
a spouse is not an object. they are people. if they get “stolen”, not kidnapped, then the person the spouse left was obviously doing something wrong. they have free will.
Uh… I’m not married so I guess I wouldn’t understand (and hopefully never be in such a situation) but right now I don’t think people can really steal someone away from you… that person choose to leave.
The guy who is the “victim” needs to learn how to satisfy the needs of his partners and not blame another guy for his failed relationship. The law is silly, but then again, I suppose since the law exists you cannot blame a guy for wanting to pocket almost a million dollars fairly easily.
No. That is ridiculous. If anyone should be sued, it should be the cheating spouse for breaking his or her vow.
yeah. she’s a sleazy wench.
wait no, they should sue their spouse. sorry read that wrong.
yes- when you’re married, you’re 100% commited to your spouse. if you break that committment, you deserve to be punished, being sued almost isn’t harsh enough. there’s nothing worse than breaking a committment and losing someone’s trust.
maybe people would work more on nurturing their marriages instead of letting them waste to shambles if they had to think of the possibility of suing a new person in the picture. Marriage isn’t a joke.
It’s not a bad idea.
No, but a spouse who cheats should never be allowed to sue for alimony in a divorce.
He should have sued his wife. She was the one he had a contract with
Marriage is a shit practice anyway. That’s life, Mr. Plumber Man. Enjoy your cash and your empty bed.
Oh, and no. People sue over anything these days don’t they?
They should be able to sue. And they should get to pay the court costs and lawyer costs for both sides and give to the defendant the amount they were suing them for once they lose their case.
Yes. First, just because a spouse would cheat anyway…doesn’t mean it had to be the person and it doens’t mean the other person is any less wrong. Second, our country is so homophobic that our leaders claim homosexual marriage would be a “threat” to the institution of marriage so our government clearly feels it is in their power to save marriage. That being said, I am positive that fewer people get divorced over sexuality than they do over adultery. If they really want to save marriage, they would institute consequences towards those who cheat. Third, infidelity isn’t just about an emotional issue. Many women stay at home raising babies and keeping house, waiting on their husbands only to be left for a younger, more energetic woman and men who work hard for years to support their families get left for more affluent men. And we can’t forget the spread of incurable and even deadly STDs. Even when people cheat and use “protection”, there are failure rates. Adultery is emotionally, financially, and physically harmful to the victim. Cheaters today rarely accept any sort of reponsibility and it is about time both the cheater and the accomplice should pay