Posted on 08/25/2007 9:08:55 AM PDT by SmithL
Beware, cheating spouses.
If you lie to your lover and lie to your spouse, you might have to pay if violence erupts when they meet.
Pharmacist John Ralph Bell contended it wasn’t his fault that his wife attacked his girlfriend, but a state appellate court disagrees in an opinion that is a cautionary tale for cheaters statewide.
In an opinion released earlier this week by the state Court of Appeals and delivered by Judge Sharon G. Lee, the court contends lying philanderers who “lure” a lover into their beds can be held legally and financially responsible for injuries the paramour may suffer at the hands of a betrayed spouse.
“Mr. Bell owed (girlfriend Rosemary) Carter the duty of reasonable care owed to an invitee by the owner or occupier of premises,” Lee wrote. “ Mr. Bell negligently breached the reasonable duty of care he owned Ms. Carter.”
Carter met Bell, a licensed pharmacist, when she went to the Rite Aid Pharmacy in New Tazewell where he worked in September 2003.
She was suffering from a slew of maladies as a result of a car crash, including anxiety and pain.
“Ms. Carter testified that on the occasion of her visit, Mr. Bell engaged her in friendly conversation and offered her cigarettes,” the opinion stated. “Later, when Ms. Carter called the store to inquire if her prescription was ready, Mr. Bell asked her if she would go out with him. Ms. Carter agreed to do so after Mr. Bell assured her that he was unmarried and that his former girlfriend had moved back to West Virginia.”
As it turned out, he was lying. He was married to Loretta Fay Bell and was still living with her when he first courted Carter.
The Bells separated at some point after the pharmacist began dating Carter. But his wife did not know about Carter, nor did Carter know about his wife.
Bell occasionally mentioned to Carter that his supposed ex-girlfriend had a “really bad temper,” a statement that would prove key in whether he was legally responsible for what happened next.
It was early November 2003 when Loretta Bell showed up unexpectedly at the couple’s Anderson County home.
“Ms. Carter testified that Mrs. Bell came into the guest bedroom where she was sleeping at the time, grabbed her by the hair and jerked her onto the floor,” the opinion stated.
Loretta Bell dragged a screaming Carter “from room to room” beating her head into the floor as she went. Carter begged the pharmacist to help her, but he did nothing, the opinion stated. Carter eventually managed to flee.
Carter suffered bleeding on the brain and underwent brain surgery as well as a month of rehabilitation at the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center.
Carter later filed suit against Bell and his wife and won, with an Anderson County jury awarding her $150,000. Bell’s wife, convicted in the assault, accepted the verdict. Bell balked, appealing.
In this week’s opinion, the appellate court rejected his appeal.
“The record further shows that Mr. Bell deceived Ms. Carter into entering a relationship with him (and) continued to deceive Ms. Carter as to the fact of his marriage for the duration of his relationship with her,” Lee wrote.
“We further note that Mr. Bell admitted that he was aware that Mrs. Bell had a really bad temper and that he knew she had once been arrested for assaulting a police officer,” the opinion stated.
“Mr. Bell breached the duty of care he owed to Ms. Carter (when he deceived her and) lured her into his house and exposed her to a likelihood of harm at the hands of his wife, whom he knew to have a propensity of violence,” the court opined.
Wow...The girlfriend should have sued for way more..150k will hardly cover the medical bills.
What absolute Barbra Streisand!
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