Infidelity: Are Lawsuits The Best Revenge?
Bob Rohrman, jilted husband, is suing his wife's lover; Jenny Sanford out of legal luck.
Spouses of unfaithful husbands and wives have used a bevy of retaliation methods to enact revenge on their spouse's lovers. Snow globes to the lover's head, per Richard Gere's character in Unfaithful. Penning bestselling memoirs, appearing on Oprah yet never calling a husband's mistress by name, per Elizabeth Edwards. Bob Rohrman, a minor Midwestern celebrity known for owning 26 car dealerships through Illinois and Indiana, has decided to use the legal system.
Rohrman is suing his wife Ronda's lover, a plastic surgeon. The auto magnate claims he and his third wife had been happily married since 2002 until the unnamed nip-tuck doctor stole away Ronda's affections. What's the legal basis for this, you ask? Read: Divorce Laws, Demystified
Only a handful of states—Illinois included—still allow this type of lawsuit, known as "alienation of affections." The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the suits are rare and don't often succeed. Rohrman's lawyer will have to prove that a) extramarital sex took place, b) Bob and Ronda's marriage was a loving one, c) this love was destroyed, and d) the plastic surgeon's involvement contributed to that destruction.
Rohrman told the Sun-Times that he had filed for divorce when he first learned of the affair. He rescinded after thinking the adultery had ended but then found amorous e-mails in Ronda's inbox. This time, Ronda initiated the divorce.
"He had kind of stolen her again. I don't know how he did it," Rohrman said. If the jilted husband wins the lawsuit, the plastic surgeon will have to pay for his thievery. In other words, he'll have to cough up the money—and then some, we imagine—that Rohrman spent hiring a private investigator to catch his cheating wife. Talk about a tangled web.
Unfortunately for Jenny Sanford, South Carolina abolished the alienation of affections law in 1992. Guess she'll have to stick with the written word or snow globes. Read: What We Learn From Gov. Sanford's Love E-mails
If possible in your state, would you use the law for revenge?
Discussion
Revenge first dig two graves. Alienation of affection is most likely unconstitutional because it supposes emotional and sexual slavery. She has every right to take care of her happiness. He has not grounds and this is just a waste of the court's time. She is under (nor he) to file for divorce or any such. You can't force someone to love you nor can you force them to have sex with you. She could counter sue. There is no such thing as alienation of affections because that supposed people as property. We are all free agents!!!
Your argument doesn't hold water from a legal point of view. As free agents we are all free to make contracts. If you sign a contract to run a business with someone, you can't quit without some kind of penalty. Marriage is the only modern contract where one party can just decide they don't feel like living up to their commitments.
I'm not sure if you can sue another company for enticing your business partner to break his or her contract. I imagine it has been tried.
From a more idealistic point of view, of course, marriage is about love and you can't force someone to stay in love with you.
I can see both ways of looking at marriage, although I have no great solution. The freedom to leave just because you want to sounds good, but in practice it can be a profoundly unfair thing. This is especially true for couples who have children or have been together a long time.
Check out this blog which talks about some interesting ways infidelity victims can get revenge on a cheater and how to proceed. It tells how to turn revenge into cash using one of the methods mentioned in this article. You can sue the Other Woman/Other Man, if you live in one of the 7 states that still have the “alienation of affections” law on the books. There’s also an excellent free tip sheet you can request by e-mail entitled How to Legally and Financially Get Revenge. Check out http://getrevenge-gettingrevenge.blogspot.com/
We both know that it is unconstitutional. Because it is slavery. Revenge is silly just get a divorce and move on. Revenge through out history means more revenge. WE as a society need to grow up!!
The "victim" mentality falls under sentiment and legally sentiment has no value but harrassment does.
