alienation of affections

English

Noun

alienation of affections (uncountable)

1. (law) A common law tort that can be brought against the third party alleged to be responsible for the failure of marriage; abolished in many jurisdictions.
   • 2002, Eric Rasmusen, “5: An economic approach to adultery law”, in Antony W. Dnes, Bob Rowthorn, editors, The Law and Economics of Marriage and Divorce, page 83:

     The wrong in alienation of affections is foreseen damage to the relationship between husband and wife, which requires the marriage not to have been in ruins before the outsider interfered.

   • 2004, Robert F. Cochran, Robert M. Ackerman, Law and Community: The Case of Torts, page 79:

     She brought suit against Margie under a seldom-used theory, the alienation of affections cause of action.
     In an alienation of affections claim, a plaintiff can recover from a third party who has deprived her of the affection of her spouse.

   • 2011, Sonya Ziaja, “Homewrecker 2.0: An Exploration of Liability for Heart Balm Torts Involving AI Humanoid Consorts”, in Bilge Mutlu, Christoph Bartneck, Jaap Ham, Vanessa Evers, Takayuki Kanda, editors, Social Robotics: Third International Conference on Social Robotics, ICSR, page 117:

     To make a successful claim for a^[sic] alienation of affections, traditionally, a plaintiff would have to prove three elements: (1) that true affection had existed between the spouses at one time; (2) that the affection was destroyed; and (3) that the defendant caused the destruction of affection or otherwise impaired the marital relationship.

See also

• criminal conversation