Spurned wife wins £3.7 million compensation from husband's mistress

A spurned wife has won £3.7million in compensation from her husband's mistress for breaking up their marriage.

Dr Lynn Arcara, used a centuries-old "alientation of affection" law to sue one of her closest friends after the woman betrayed her by stealing her husband of six years.

Dr Arcara, who was several months pregnant with her first child, had invited her friend Susan Pecoraro to stay at her home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, so that she could help decorate the nursery.

However, Miss Pecoraro, 45, embarked upon an affair with Dr Arcara's husband, Russell, a retired US army officer.

When Dr Aracara discovered the affair, after giving birth to a daughter, the marriage ended and the couple divorced.

The 45-year-old radiologist launched a legal case to reclaim $5.8m (£3.7m), a sum based on the amount of money she would have earned if she had remained married to her husband.

Cynthia Mills, the lawyer who represented Dr Arcara in the court action, said she had been betrayed by her closest friend.

"She came down and helped my client paint her nursery and in the process she helped herself to my client's husband," said Mrs Mills.

Mrs Mills said she was able to present documents to the court to show that Dr Arcara and her husband were happy before the affair began.

She said the couple, who married in July 2000, often shared activities together with the husband cooking for his wife and preparing for the birth of their first child.

"She was a great wife, she's a great mother, a great person and she was a very sympathetic witness," said Mrs Mills.

Since the break-up of the marriage Dr Arcara has moved to Florida while her husband lives in the neighbouring state of Georgia.

Miss Pecoraro still lives in the town of Hebron, Maryland, and may never have to pay the money as the judgement can't be enforced in another state.

The $5.8m award, made at Pitt County Court, is the second highest ever awarded by a court in the US under the alienation of affection law.

The previous highest was a $9m awarded to 60-year-old Cynthia Shackleford who sued love rival Anne Lundquist following the end of her 33-year marriage.

Mrs Shackleford was able to prove in court earlier this year that Miss Lundquist set out to "deliberately seduce" her husband Alan.

North Carolina deals with up to 200 cases a year under the obscure law and is one of seven US states to have it on their statute books.

Mrs Mills said women seeking affairs should avoid coming to North Carolina.

"If you want to have an affair, you need to choose someone who doesn't reside in North Carolina to have it with because you are going, you're gonna' open yourself up to a liability if you do so," said Mrs Mills.

(Published by Telegraph - September 8, 2010)