This case study highlights how a divorce lawyer NYC successfully established liability for intentional emotional harm arising from extreme conduct associated with an extramarital relationship following the breakdown of a long term marriage in New York. The matter demonstrates how New York courts evaluate post divorce tort liability when a third party knowingly engages in extreme and outrageous conduct that foreseeably causes emotional harm in connection with an existing marital relationship. It further illustrates how documented emotional distress can support a substantial compensatory damages award even after the divorce itself has been finalized.
1. Divorce Lawyer NYC | Case Overview
This matter arose after a spouse discovered a prolonged extramarital relationship that directly contributed to the dissolution of the marriage and ongoing emotional harm. The client sought guidance from a divorce lawyer NYC to evaluate whether civil liability could be pursued beyond the divorce judgment itself. Under New York law, while no fault divorce governs marital dissolution, separate tort based claims may still be viable when intentional misconduct causes demonstrable harm. The client had endured years of marital instability marked by unexplained absences, repeated misrepresentations, and emotional withdrawal by the spouse. Eventually, digital evidence revealed an ongoing relationship between the spouse and a workplace associate that had continued for an extended period and overlapped with the intact marriage.
Prolonged Extramarital Relationship and Marital Breakdown
The evidence demonstrated that the affair was not an isolated lapse but a sustained relationship maintained over many months, including overnight stays and continuous communication.
Financial records, location data, and message logs were analyzed to show that the conduct coincided with the deterioration of the marital relationship.
The divorce lawyer NYC framed this pattern as a significant contributing factor to the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage rather than a post separation event.
2. Divorce Lawyer NYC | Legal Strategy and Advocacy
Following the completion of an uncontested divorce, the client continued to experience severe emotional distress directly linked to the conduct of the third party involved in the affair. The divorce lawyer NYC evaluated the viability of a civil claim grounded in intentional infliction of emotional distress under New York common law principles. This required careful factual development and precise framing to meet New York’s stringent standards for outrageous and extreme conduct.
Causal Connection between Conduct and Emotional Harm
The legal team focused on establishing a clear causal link between the third party’s knowing interference and the client’s psychological injuries.
Evidence showed that the third party was fully aware of the existing marriage and nonetheless continued the relationship.
This awareness was critical in demonstrating intentional or reckless disregard for the likelihood of causing emotional harm.
Evidence of Emotional Abuse and Secondary Trauma
Beyond the affair itself, the third party engaged in repeated taunting and demeaning communications directed at the client after the relationship was exposed.
Screenshots of messages, witness statements, and corroborating testimony illustrated a pattern of deliberate emotional provocation.
The divorce lawyer NYC emphasized that this conduct exceeded mere interpersonal conflict and rose to the level of actionable emotional abuse under New York standards.
3. Divorce Lawyer NYC | Proof of Emotional Distress
To substantiate damages, the divorce lawyer NYC assembled comprehensive documentation of the client’s psychological condition following the marital breakdown. New York courts require objective evidence of severe distress, and the legal team structured the evidentiary record accordingly. Medical evaluations confirmed the onset of anxiety, sleep disruption, and panic symptoms following the discovery of the affair and subsequent harassment. Treatment records from licensed mental health professionals were submitted to demonstrate both the severity and duration of the emotional injury.
Medical and Therapeutic Documentation
The client’s treating providers confirmed that the symptoms were not transient emotional reactions but sustained conditions requiring professional intervention.
Progress notes and diagnostic assessments supported the conclusion that the distress materially impaired daily functioning.
This objective medical evidence played a central role in validating the damages claim.
4. Divorce Lawyer NYC | Case Outcome and Judgment
Based on the totality of the evidence, the court found that the defendant knowingly engaged in conduct that foreseeably caused substantial emotional harm. The court concluded that the combination of prolonged extramarital involvement and targeted post disclosure harassment justified a compensatory damages award. The court entered judgment ordering the defendant to pay $25,000 in emotional distress damages, recognizing the seriousness of the psychological injury and the intentional nature of the conduct. The divorce lawyer NYC successfully demonstrated that accountability for emotional harm may extend beyond the marital relationship itself under New York law when supported by credible evidence.
