Court Restores Man's Lawsuit Against Cheating Wife's Lover

An appeals court in Forsyth County has ruled on a case revolving around an alleged extramarital affair, which means the jilted husband's lawsuit against his wife's lover can proceed.

North Carolina is one of six states that have what are known as “alienation of affection laws” on the books. The laws allow people to sue their spouse's lover if they can prove the defendant caused the couple's marriage to fall apart. The state also has a law addressing “criminal conversation," the legal term for extramarital sex.

The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a trial court was wrong to throw out Marc Malecek's lawsuit. The decision now resurrects the case he filed over what he said was his wife's affair with a doctor at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center where she works as a nurse. Malacek is seeking $100,000 in damages.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports this is the first time the North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled on the constitutionality of alienation of affection.