A $25,000 Suit for Stolen Affection
An 1892 Seattle husband took his wife’s alleged lover to court—and put a price on heartbreak.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
John L. Cameron commenced an action in the superior court yesterday against C. W. Hutcheson to recover $25,000 for the alleged alienation of his wife's affections, alleging that Hutcheson sustained improper relations with her. The plaintiff sets up in his recital of the grounds of the complaint that he was married to Lydia in December 1883; that they had five children, and that she added to his general happiness until on or about March, when his wife committed adultery with Hutcheson. He alleges Hutcheson alienated her, robbed him of the affection he had hitherto had for him, and caused him mortification and grief. He places the damage by this alleged wrong at $25,000.
“He places the damage by this alleged wrong at $25,000.”
Alienation-of-affection suits are mostly gone, but the idea of putting a dollar figure on betrayal still surfaces in modern divorce and civil litigation. The case also shows how the era’s courts made private relationships public property.
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