- Adultory has its costs
Nah, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wasn't buying into Jerry Fitch's argument about the high court limiting what a spurned spouse can collect through "alienation of affection." That's otherwise known as stealing another man’s wife, and it's still recognized in seven states (Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Mississippi where our tale unfolds). Here's the deal: Sandra Fitch had been married to a plumber named Johnny Valentine when she was hired by Fitch's real estate company. Within a year, she and Fitch began an affair. She became pregnant by Fitch and told Valentine that his suspicions about adultery were unfounded. But Valentine had genetic tests done showing he was not the baby's father. He sued for divorce and then he sued Fitch. Valentine won more than $642,000 in compensatory damages. But Fitch says he shouldn't have to pay $112,000 in punitive damages – and he went all the way to the Supremes, asking for a stay of a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling upholding the full verdict. In denying Fitch's application for a stay, Scalia offered no opinion. Here's more from Scotusblog:
The application stresses that Fitch is not claiming there is “a Constitutional right to adultery,” and that he “is not urging a prohibition on all attempts by the state to foster traditional forms of marital relationships.” It contends that “short term sexual liaisons, lacking the hallmarks of a deep intimate interpersonal component may be subject to state interference justified by less compelling reasons than should be manifest here.” Fitch noted that he married the woman involved, Sandra Day (formerly Sandra Valentine, now Sandra Fitch). While their relationship was “adulterous at the start,” the application says, “there was never any proof adduced that Mr. Fitch had no real affection and love for Sandra during the relationship.”
By the way, alienation of affection is rooted in the notion of a woman as her husband's property. It goes back to the Teutonic tribes of early Germany in the 10th Century.
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| 02:29 PM Oct 25, 2007 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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