Spanish Court Awards Husband €200,000 From Unfaithful Wife

Recently, Canadian and United States courts have refused to relieve men of their responsibility to support children that were found to be the children of other men. Now, a Spanish court has taken the opposite approach – awarding high damages (for Europe) against a woman who was found to have kept the same love for six of 14 years of marriage. Three of the couples four children were fathered by the lover and not the husband.

The husband in the case eventually had DNA tests to show that he was not the father. While he did not seek to get out of parental support, he did sue for his pain and suffering and a court in Valencia, southeastern Spain, ordered the wife to pay €100,000.

She appealed, but did not get the reception that she hoped for. The Supreme Court doubled the damages to €200,000. However, that is roughly €33000 per year of an affair, which comes to basically €90 a day (counting legal holidays).

The Court ruled that the wife “acted negligently in the conception of her children” and her lies “only added to the pain caused to the husband.” Due to her conduct, the compensation should be “higher than if the children had been killed in an accident”. A curious analogy to be sure.

For the full story, click here.