A handful of states, including North Carolina, maintain a legal relic that lets spouses sue third parties for damaging their marriages. The practice, known as an alienation of affection claim, survives even as most of the country has moved on from the concept.
The law allows a jilted spouse to take legal action against whoever seduced or otherwise separated them from their partner. While the definition varies by state, the core principle remains: a third party can be held liable for the breakdown of a marriage.
North Carolina has emerged as one of the few jurisdictions still actively using these statutes. The state treats alienation of affection as a serious tort claim, meaning damages can be substantial when a jury decides to award them.
The concept gained renewed attention following a high-profile case involving a former Arizona senator and her bodyguard, which drew national scrutiny to the outdated legal framework. That case illustrated how the law plays out in modern relationships, even as courts in other states have quietly eliminated similar claims from their books.
Legal experts view the survival of these laws as anomalous. Most states have concluded that the claims are difficult to prove, often fuel bitter disputes, and rest on assumptions about marriage and fidelity that no longer reflect contemporary life. Yet in North Carolina and the small number of remaining jurisdictions, the statute endures.
The persistence of alienation of affection laws raises questions about what role tort law should play in regulating personal relationships. For now, North Carolina residents retain an option that spouses in most other states have lost.
Author James Rodriguez: "These laws belong in a museum, not a courtroom, but North Carolina seems determined to keep them on the books."
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