Adultery still a tort

An insurance liability decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals today provides a rare glimpse of the persistence the tort of "alienation of affections" in states such as South Dakota, and of the use of emotional distress claims for extramarital affairs. (I tackled these torts way back here.)

Here, Mr. Baar sued Mr. Pins for having an affair with his wife, and Mr. Pins sought to have State Farm Insurance defend and indemnify him under an accident liability policy. Pins failed; Baar's suit continues in state court.