An American woman, who won USD 9 million (Rs 40.87 crore) in damages from her husband's alleged mistress said her legal victory has sent a clear message to potential home-wreckers to lay off
An American woman, who won USD 9 million (Rs 40.87 crore) in damages from her husband's alleged mistress said her legal victory has sent a clear message to potential home-wreckers to "lay off"Cynthia Shackelford (60), a former teacher, was awarded the sum by a jury in the United States for damage to her feelings under an obscure 19th-century adultery law.
Ouch, it hurts!
"My message is to all those women out there who might have their eyes set on some married guy to not come between a wedded couple," she said.
"It hurts the children. My children are devastated. I'm devastated. Allan and I joked about sitting in rocking chairs and having a glass of wine or whatever and talking about what our children did when they were little.
That's never going to happen now," Cynthia recalled. "I wanted other people to understand how much it hurts, before they do such a thing."
The award was made against Anne Lundquist (49). Lundquist is an administrator at a private school. She has been accused of having an affair with Allan Shackelford, a 62-year-old lawyer who had been married to Cynthia for 33 years.
Law of affection
Cynthia took Lundquist to court in North Carolina state where the so-called "alienation of affection" law is still in force. It evolved from common law under which women were classed as property of their husbands. As property, they were something that could be stolen.
The size of the award to Cynthia, after a two-day hearing last week, was unprecedented.
The former teacher has two adult children from the marriage.
The jury awarded her USD 5 million compensation and also awarded USD 4 million in punitive damages to be paid by Lundquist.
"I'm so caught off guard by everything. I don't have a lot of money, so where this $9 million figure comes from is a mystery to me."
She's not to blame
Allan said Lundquist was not the cause of his marriage's failure. He said there had been "significant problems" in the marriage for years, and three attempts at counselling had failed.
Lee Rosen, of the Rosen Law Firm in North Carolina, said the state has around 200 "alienation of affection" claims a year. "If your spouse is going to cheat, you really would like them to cheat with somebody who has a lot of money," he said.
