Criminal conversation

Suits for criminal conversation reached their height in late 18th- and early 19th-century England, where large sums, often between £10,000 and £20,000 (worth upwards of £1–2 million in today's terms),[10] could be demanded by the plaintiff for the debauching of his wife.

These suits were conducted at the Court of the King's Bench in Westminster Hall,[citation needed] and were highly publicised by publishers such as Edmund Curll and in the newspapers of the day.

[11] Although neither the plaintiff, defendant, nor the wife accused of the adultery was permitted to take the stand,[citation needed] evidence of the adulterous behaviour was presented by servants or observers.

The specific tort of criminal conversation (although not the principle that a cuckolded husband was entitled to compensation from his adulterer) was abolished under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857.

In the state of New South Wales, the tort of criminal conversation was abolished by section 92 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1899 (NSW).

[22] The bill was signed into law by Governor Bev Perdue on August 3, 2009, and is codified under Chapter 52 of the North Carolina General Statutes:[23] § 52-13.

In Misenheimer v. Burris, 360 N.C. 620, 637 S.E.2d 173 (2006), the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations commences when the affair should have been discovered rather than when it occurred.

Crim. Con , a cartoon of Sir John Piers and Lady Cloncurry witnessed in an embrace by the painter Gaspare Gabrielli . The caption claims that the sketch "has been valued by 12 Connoisseurs at Twenty Thousand pounds!", a satirical allusion to the sum awarded to Lord Cloncurry by the jury in the ensuing criminal conversation court case of 1807.
The Secret History of Crim Con. , 1808 etching by Thomas Rowlandson , lampooning various aspects of adulterous affairs
1782 cartoon by James Gillray , depicting Sir Richard Worsley helping George Bisset view his wife, Seymour Fleming , naked in a bath-house. The caption reads: "Sir Richard Worse-than-Sly / Exposing his Wifes Bottom; – O fye!"