A North Carolina superior court judge ruled that a man must pay his lover’s ex-husband for seducing her while the couple was still together and destroying the marriage.
According to the Durham Herald Sun, Durham County Judge Orlando Hudson’s ruling awarded Keith King, who owns a popular BMX stunt show, $2.2 million in compensatory damages.
The ruling against San Antonio, Texas, resident Francisco Huizar III also included a punitive judgment three times that amount. An attorney representing Huizar said his client intends to appeal the judgment.
King initiated the suit in April 2017, taking advantage of a North Carolina legal provision allowing a spouse to sue another person for engaging in a sexual relationship with his or her spouse prior to a separation.
Though the total of $8.8 million in damages is significant, it is not the largest such judgment handed down by a judge in the state.
As the Herald Sun reported, a judge ruled that one litigant deserved $30 million in total damages.
Compensatory damages are considered independently of an individuals ability to pay, but a judge is allowed to take assets into consideration when issuing a punitive judgment.
King’s attorney argued that in addition to the damage to his marriage, Huizar’s role in the affair and an alleged assault cost his company, King BMX Stunt Shows, both revenue and staff. His ex-wife, Danielle King, had worked for the company.
Joanne Foil further argued that the affair resulted in her client being forced to spend additional money on household expenses including child care as well as costs associated with counseling.
Huizar, however, argued through his lawyer that the King marriage was in deep trouble before he came along.
“This marriage needed one more blow before it was over,” Cheri Patrick said.
Danielle King testified in court that she was an active participant in seeking the extramarital relationship, adding that she had long been unhappy in the marriage.
She said she met Huizar in 2015 at a show and Foil used the timeline of their relationship in making the case that the jilted lover deserved compensation.
Keith King reportedly began finding calls to unknown numbers on his phone bills in August 2015. Between that time and December of the same year, his attorney argued that Huizar rented a room less than one mile from their home where Danielle King met on multiple occasions.
Foil noted that those liaisons did not include “the times where he met her elsewhere.”
The Kings formally began the separation process in 2017 after an extended string of stalled reconciliation attempts.
Huizar’s attorneys responded to the arguments by claiming that King went on to show up unannounced at the apartment his estranged wife had moved into, despite the fact that she did not give him the address, “and loomed over Danielle King, causing her to cower in fear.”
Prior to the judgment against him, court records indicate Huizar failed to respond to multiple attempts by King’s legal team to serve him publicly and an in person with papers.
[Featured image: Keith King, Twitter]
