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North Carolina man won $750,000 in a lawsuit against the man he alleged broke up his marriage. Kevin Howard was married 12 years when his wife told him she wanted to separate.

“It was like someone calling you and telling you that a family member had tragically died,” Howard told WITN.

Howard was awarded a $750,000 settlement against his ex-wife’s lover under North Carolina’s alienation of affection law, according to court documents.

Under North Carolina alienation of affection laws known as “homewrecker” or “heartbalm” laws, which means a case can be brought to the court by a spouse who has been deserted because of the actions of a third party, according to Lawyers.com.

“He came to my house and ate dinner with my children and I and her,” Howard said. “He would visit with her while I was at work.”

“I filed this case because I believe it’s very important that people understand that sanctity of marriage is important especially in this day and age when people question everyone’s morals, people questions everyone’s liability of a person and the state backed me up on it,” Howard added.

There are six other states other that allow homewrecker lawsuits, including Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Utah. The North Carolina law goes all the back to the 1800s and follows English law dating back to 1745 when wives were considered property according to CBS 11.

Kellie Gonzalez, an independent attorney said, “I think the law should be repealed. There have been several legislative movements and attempts to have the law removed but those have failed.”

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