Santa Barbara, CA asked in Personal Injury for California

Q: Are there any viable causes of action in California for suing a spouse or his mistress as a result of their affair?

Assume there are only adult (no minor) children involved, and that the motivation is to seek redress by moving against both the spouse and the mistress.

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Unfortunately, when we moved form a "Fault" state to a "No-Fault" state, that meant that a party cannot sue for the Loss of Consortium, which is what people used to sue for when there was a loss of emotional and physical intimacy in a relationship.

Now, if you contracted a disease as a result of their activities, and it was provable, then you might be able to pursue something, but that is highly unlikely.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress is also a remote possibility, IF they were conducting themselves in such a flagrant and emotionally tormenting manner, but again that is highly unlikely.

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