WHAT A HEEL: … Who Needs Enemies?
Susan Doyle and Christi Stem are attorneys, live on the same block and were friends for 17 years. Stem is the godmother to Doyle's kids, was a shoulder to cry on in 2008 and 2009 when Doyle’s marriage was troubled and (allegedly) became a source of “comfort” to Doyle’s husband. Michael, during this period. In a “salacious 16-page court filing” Doyle has accused Stem of adultery, and “contends … she discovered Stem and her husband together at her home in October and that Stem admitted to the affair,” the News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) reports:
[Doyle] filed a criminal conversation lawsuit Tuesday seeking a jury trial and at least $20,000 in damages from Stem. …
North Carolina is one of only a few states that allow jilted spouses to file criminal conversation actions or alienation of affection lawsuits. State courts take these lawsuits seriously, however, often awarding significant financial damages. In March, the wife of a Raleigh trucking company owner was awarded $30 million in an alienation of affection lawsuit, one of the largest in state history. …
Doyle claims Stem had sex with her husband on multiple occasions throughout 2010 and the affair caused her "mental anguish, humiliation, injury to physical and emotional health and the loss of assistance and financial support of her spouse" resulting in "substantial damages." …
North Carolina is one of six states where alienation of affection and criminal conversation lawsuits are allowed. The lawsuits first appeared well over a century ago. …
The two types of adultery lawsuits in North Carolina are:
Criminal conversation lawsuits. These can be filed against anyone who had an affair with a married person. Plaintiffs must prove that there was a marriage and that extramarital sex occurred. …
Alienation of affection lawsuits. These claim that someone had a relationship with one's spouse that led to a diminished affection in the marriage. The actions are held to a higher legal standard. In-laws are sometimes targeted in these suits.
In a bizarre twist, the suit also claims Stem – a family law attorney in private practice – counseled the couple on separation and child custody matters, and helped Susan Doyle hire a private investigator to follow her husband in 2009.
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