Back on May 5 we published about a lawsuit brought in North Carolina against former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema by the wife of her former bodyguard. The guard lived in North Carolina and that state has retained the once popular tort of alienation of affection. The guard’s wife sued Sinema claiming she had stolen her husband in an amorous/adulterous sense.
Sinema’s lawyers responded that the Arizona resident had no significant contacts with North Carolina and under U.S. Supreme Court cases, she shouldn’t have to respond to litigation in that state. World-wide Volkswagen v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286 (1980). The idea is that to be sued in a state, you must have some significant contact with it.
Over the summer, Sinema’s deposition was taken to explore what “contacts” she had with the bodyguard and in what states. She acknowledged that there has been intercourse in five other states but not in North Carolina.
Here’s what we understand to be the federal judge’s ruling. Because Sinema sent Mr. Ammel (the bodyguard) nine text messages while he was located in North Carolina she “acted” within that state because she had to know he was in North Carolina.
This is big and almost certain to be appealed. Not that any reader of this article would consider it, but surveys indicate that about one-third of married Americans have “cheated.” Is America Experiencing an Infidelity Epidemic? – The Survey Center on American Life
So, let’s assume that you are sent to your company’s annual sales meeting in “wherever” and you meet your remote boss who happens to come from North Carolina Hawaii, South Dakota or Utah. You and he/she/they find yourselves attracted to each other and things go “awry” in a non-monogamous way. Conference ends and you fly back to your marriage and he/she/they returns to one of the listed states. You text back and forth about what happened and what it meant, blah, blah, blah. You knew your texts were North Carolina bound and the court’s ruling suggests that you should have known what states expose you to being sued for alienation of affection. You are sitting in your Pennsylvania house wondering about “whatever” when the constable bangs on your door and says: “Here’s a lawsuit from North Carolina. Have a nice day.” Nice day indeed when your spouse asks: “Who was that at the door?”
This is one ruling entered in one state. But, it suggests that if infidelity is on your mind you need to ask your correspondent where he/she/they reside and proceed with caution. North Carolina just awarded $1.75 million in damages against a TikTok influencer for her interference with a marriage. TikTok influencer Brenay Kennard’s affair with Akira Montague’s now-former husband, Tim, cost her $1.75 million in court | CNN.
Here’s the US District Court opinion: AMMEL v. SINEMA (2026) | FindLaw