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    'Stealing' Someone's Husband Costs Woman $9 Million

    By Brian FairbanksMarch 24th, 2010, 2:15 pmComments (11)

    last-mistress-01Cynthia Shackelford has had it pretty rough: 60-years-old, still in love with her husband of many years who claimed to still love her back, she coasted through the blissful 2000s without a care in the world.

    Until, of course, she discovered that her husband was cheating on her.

    Shackelford didn't just end the marriage -- she went after the mistress... in court:


    Shackelford sued her husband's alleged mistress, Anne Lundquist, for "alienation of affection," charging that the woman broke up her 33-year marriage.

    Last week, Shackelford won. A jury awarded her $5 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages to be paid by Lundquist.

    "She set her sights on him. ... She knew he was married," Shackelford said of Lundquist Monday. "You don't go after married men and break up families."

    As much as we dislike a person who would deliberately break up a family (if that's even what she did), we have to think this case sets a dangerous precedent, especially with all the attention it's getting.

    There's more to the story -- the husband took the mistress' side in a big way:

    [Mr.] Shackelford, 62, wrote that he had had "numerous affairs going back to the first two years" of his marriage and that the couple had "significant problems in their marriage for years, including three rounds of marital counseling that failed." [ABC News]

    Image via the film The Last Mistress.

    Comments ( 11 )

    I guess what they say about a woman scorned is right.

    Luke commented on Mar 24 10 at 2:21 pm

    I'd rather be a Lundquist than a Shackelford.

    Just saying.

    JK commented on Mar 24 10 at 2:21 pm

    Good luck collecting that 9 million. I'd pay it a dollar a year for 9 million years.

    G Man commented on Mar 24 10 at 2:38 pm

    Of course you would. Why would any man admit to wrong doing? Having affairs for 29 years - well of course it must be the woman's fault. She probably only cooked for, cleaned for, serviced, and stroked that man until the day she found out he was screwing someone else. She deserves nothing for putting up with his shit. Why should he admit to any failing?

    vajsha commented on Mar 24 10 at 5:53 pm

    Probably will not survive an appeal. These types of laws that essentially criminalize adultery have generally been found to violate the First Amendment rights of free speech and association. My favorite one was a law against "criminal conversation," that basically made it a crime to flirt with someone who was married. Ms. Shackelford should not go shopping for a private island quite yet.

    BZ commented on Mar 24 10 at 6:36 pm

    She won't get the money but I don't have a problem with what she did. Biologically women prefer men who are attractive to other women as it generally means good genes. We are no longer in the jungle however, so while I sympathise with Anne for obviously falling in love, I don't see any harm in her facing up to another woman's pain.

    Taryn commented on Mar 24 10 at 9:20 pm

    @BZ, this isn't a criminal statute; it's civil damages. I think it's great: Make the cheater face the cost of her wrongful actions. I agree it's likely to get reduced on appeal, but I doubt it will all go away.

    Note, by the way, that this is in North Carolina. Whaddaya think a jury would award Elizabeth Edwards against Rielle?

    ProfRobert commented on Mar 24 10 at 11:54 pm

    I think it's a good precedent. If we're talking about marriage as a legal contract (it is), then the legalities of jumping the contract get very interesting indeed.

    thinkywritey commented on Mar 25 10 at 9:34 am

    @JK I agree!!

    little_fiend commented on Mar 25 10 at 10:41 am

    @ProfRobert I understand the difference, but even in a civil case, particularly when you are asking for punitive damages, there has to be some kind of illegal conduct to give rise to the need to punish the defendant. If what the defendant did was not illegal, it is very hard to justify an award of this magnitude. It would be like me suing the person driving the car in front of me for driving too slowly on the highway just to tick me off. As long as they are within proper speed limits (low and high), I would be out of luck.

    BZ commented on Mar 25 10 at 1:33 pm

    It may not be fair to make someone pay for sleeping with someone else's spouse, but it will teach people to keep their hands off of other people's husbands/wives. Besides why should it only be the cheating husband who has to pay? The mistress should be accountable too.

    Floral Joy commented on Mar 25 10 at 3:53 pm

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