Thompson v. Chapman
| Decision Date | 27 March 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 3565,3565 |
| Citation | 1979 NMCA 41,600 P.2d 302,93 N.M. 356 |
| Parties | John THOMPSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ernest CHAPMAN, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Plaintiff sued defendant for alienation of affections. Summary judgment was granted defendant and plaintiff appeals. We affirm. Plaintiff's complaint alleged that sometime in 1974, defendant began to interfere with the marital relationship of plaintiff and his wife; such interference continued and contributed significantly to a divorce that took place, September 29, 1976. The interference consisted of (1) defendant maintaining as close a social relationship with plaintiff's wife as circumstances would permit, (2) placing himself in social situations near plaintiff's wife, (3) arranging and participating in clandestine rendezvous with her, (4) inviting her to attend social outings, (5) otherwise acting affirmatively to induce her to develop greater affection toward him with a commensurate loss of affection of her husband. Defendant knew and intended that his misbehavior would have a deleterious effect upon the marriage.
Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and two affidavits, which when taken together, treats the motion as one for summary judgment. Rule 12(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
The affidavits of defendant and plaintiff's former wife stated:
(1) They did not date nor visit each other alone prior to the date of the divorce.
(2) They did not discuss any matters of personal relationship nor have any personal relationship at any time prior to the date of the divorce.
(3) They did not do or say anything which encouraged or created or fostered a relationship or social relationship until after the divorce, and in fact saw each other only in the context of their jobs during the day in the presence of many other people and then only in the nature of the business itself.
(4) The complaint filed by plaintiff is just one more in a continued and repeated harassment of plaintiff's wife, which harassment has induced physical assault, verbal abuse and molestation, and there is no truth to any of the matters set forth in the complaint.
The burden shifted to plaintiff. Plaintiff filed an affidavit in which he verified the allegations of the complaint. In addition, he stated:
(1) During 1974 and 1975, defendant and plaintiff's wife attended and associated together at choir practice on frequent occasions at the Methodist church in Raton.
(2) In July of 1974, plaintiff's wife was in the company of the defendant and others from 10 a. m. to 12 p. m. for the purpose of appearing in the Jaycees Rodeo Parade and other activities related to the Rodeo.
(3) During 1974 and 1975, on numerous occasions defendant provided plaintiff's wife with rides to work.
(4) In the winter of 1974, plaintiff's wife, in the company of her parents, participated with defendant in an afternoon of snow mobiling at a lake near Raton.
(5) On one occasion the defendant and plaintiff's wife were seen together at a restaurant in Raton for an extended period of time.
Another affidavit was filed by a person that stated:
(1) One wintery afternoon in late 1974 at a lake near Raton, defendant and plaintiff's wife departed from a social gathering and were alone for several minutes.
(2) On July 10, 1976, defendant and plaintiff's wife were at a dance in Maxwell, New Mexico, and were together at various social events surrounding and including the Raton Jaycees Rodeo of July 1976.
In Birchfield v. Birchfield, 29 N.M. 19, 22, 24, 217 P. 616, 618-19 (1923) Justice Bratton set forth the guidelines of a claim for alienation of affections:
The loss of the society, companionship, fellowship, comfort, conjugal affections and support of the husband, when caused by any third person maliciously invading the hallowed precincts of the home, and without justification severing the ties which bind the husband and wife together, from which a separation flows, is tortious, and the person who does so may be required to respond in damages. But the burden is upon the plaintiff to show...
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...to the alienation. [Citations omitted; emphasis added.] 46 N.C.App. at 523, 265 S.E.2d at 436. Accord, Thompson v. Chapman, 93 N.M. 356, 357-58, 600 P.2d 302, 303-04 (N.M.Ct.App.), cert. denied, 92 N.M. 675, 593 P.2d 1078 (1979). After considering the various definitions enunciated in other......
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