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Oddo v. Presser6/17/2003
Ward to the instant case would lead to overreaching results and a wholesale disfigurement of the foundation upon which damage awards in claims for alienation of affections are based.
In light of the criteria requiring "willful, wanton, aggravated or malicious conduct" beyond that necessary to satisfy the elements of the tort itself, Ward, 141 N.C. App. at 50, 539 S.E.2d at 35, the gravamen of the standard for an award of punitive damages in an alienation of affections claim is not the mere commission or omission of certain acts, such as sexual intercourse. Rather, it is the display and manifestation of defendant's actions to the plaintiff or others, in a way that tends to exacerbate plaintiff's loss. See Chapell, 67 N.C. App. at 403, 313 S.E.2d at 243 (holding "there must be some evidence of circumstances of aggravation in addition to the malice implied by law from the conduct of defendant in alienating the affections between the spouses which was necessary to sustain a recovery of compensatory damages").
Additionally, plaintiff argues there was evidence of other facts, apart from the evidence of sexual intercourse, that constitute malicious, willful, or wanton conduct sufficient to submit the issue of punitive damages to the jury. In his brief and at oral argument, plaintiff argues email communications, letters, and phone calls to Debra were sufficient evidence of aggravating circumstances. Plaintiff also points to the trial court's judicial review of the punitive damages award pursuant to N.C.G.S. ยง 1D-50 (2001):
(a) That the defendant knew the sexual affair between himself and Debbie Oddo Presser was wrong, and pursued said affair, and the sexual conduct involved, anyway;
(b) That the defendant intentionally pursued this sexual affair after Debbie Oddo Presser tried to terminate the relationship;
(c) That at the time of his conduct, the defendant knew that the plaintiff was married;
(d) That, at the time of the affair, the defendant pursued secret sexual meetings with Debbie Oddo Presser which he went to substantial measures to hide both from the plaintiff and from his wife;
(e) That the criminal conversations and alienation of affections committed by the defendant resulted in the absolute divorce of the plaintiff and Debbie Oddo Presser; and
(f) That at the time of his conduct, the defendant himself was married and he separated from his wife soon after his sexual affair with Debbie Oddo Presser began.
The trial court's review shows that defendant did not display or manifest to plaintiff or others his communication with Debra. Defendant's actions are merely dimensions of the malice ascribed to the underlying tort of alienation of affections and would be inherent in most claims of alienation of affections. Thus, defendant's actions are insufficient evidence of aggravating factors to allow the issue of punitive damages to be submitted to a jury. To hold otherwise renders meaningless the long held standard allowing punitive damages only where defendant's actions evince circumstances of aggravation in addition to the malice implied by law from the tort itself. See Chapell, 67 N.C. App. at 403, 313 S.E.2d at 243.
In the case sub judice, unlike previous cases allowing punitive damages, there is no evidence of malicious, willful, or wanton conduct beyond that inherent in the underlying tort. Defendant did not flaunt or make known his contact with Debra. There is no record evidence that prior to separation defendant manifested his relationship with Debra or made known his feelings to anyone other than Debra. In essence, plaintiff's claim rests on the evidence of sexual intercourse occur
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