Opinion ID: 3171252
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: alienation of affection

Text: Wright has failed to state a claim for alienation of affection as a matter of law. There are three elements to an alienation of affection claim: “(1) wrongful conduct of the defendant, (2) loss of affection or consortium, and (3) a causal connection between the conduct and the loss.” Children’s Med. Grp., P.A. v. Phillips, 940 So. 2d 931, 934 (Miss. 2006) (en banc). The “‘wrongful’ conduct necessary to maintain an action for alienation of affections is the direct and intentional interference with the marriage relationship by the defendant.” 7 Case: 15-60285 Document: 00513350756 Page: 8 Date Filed: 01/21/2016 No. 15-60285 Id. However, the Mississippi Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that an employer cannot be vicariously liable for its employees’ affairs because such affairs are “so clearly beyond an employee’s course and scope of employment that [it] cannot form the basis for a claim of vicarious liability, as a matter of law.” Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. v. Seay, 42 So. 3d 474, 488 (Miss. 2010) (quoting Children’s Med. Grp., 940 So. 2d at 935). Thus, Wright’s claim fails insofar as it is based on Benitez’s involvement in the affair. See 14 Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice & Procedure § 3658 (“[The FTCA’s] waiver of liability, however, is limited to the torts and wrongful acts of federal employees acting within the scope of official duties.”). Here, the only “wrongful conduct” Wright points to is that the United States allegedly knew of the affair and failed to fulfill its “duty to take corrective action to stop the affair.” Even assuming, arguendo, that the United States had knowledge of the affair, Wright provides no authority supporting his contention that an employer has an affirmative duty to stop its employees’ trysts or that a defendant’s failure to act on that “duty” constitutes wrongful conduct under Mississippi law. See Scroggins, 599 F.3d at 447 (noting that an argument is waived if it fails to identify relevant legal standards). Wright does not point to any Mississippi court that has held that an employer’s inaction in stopping an affair is sufficient, in of itself, to state a facially plausible claim that would survive a motion to dismiss. 4 See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (holding 4 Indeed, the Mississippi Supreme Court has only held that a complaint alleging that an employer knew of and allowed an illicit relationship involving its employees satisfied the lower pleading standard under Mississippi procedural rules at the time. See Children’s Med. Grp., 940 So. 2d at 934–35 (noting that the plaintiff “is required only to place [the employer] on reasonable notice of the claims against it and demonstrate that [the plaintiff] has alleged a recognized cause of action upon which, under some set of facts, [the plaintiff] might prevail.”). The court expressly recognized, however, that this allegation alone “fails to specify [the employer’s wrongful] conduct that directly and intentionally interfered with [the plaintiff’s] marriage.” Id. at 934. 8 Case: 15-60285 Document: 00513350756 Page: 9 Date Filed: 01/21/2016 No. 15-60285 that “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter” to state a facially plausible claim). Moreover, cases addressing the alienation of affection tort have consistently couched their description of that tort in language focusing on actions by, not the inaction of, the defendant. See, e.g., Fitch v. Valentine, 959 So. 2d 1012, 1020 (Miss. 2007) (en banc) (concluding that the alienation of affection tort provides redress “against the third party who, through persuasion, enticement, or inducement, caused or contributed” to an injury of the marital relationship (emphasis added)); Children’s Med. Grp., 940 So. 2d at 934 (“The ‘wrongful’ conduct necessary to maintain an action for alienation of affections is the direct and intentional interference with the marriage relationship by the defendant.” (emphasis added)). Because the Mississippi Supreme Court has not previously held that allegations of the employer’s inaction alone constitute wrongful conduct, we decline to hold that merely pleading inaction on the part of the United States is sufficient to plausibly plead alienation of affection and thereby waive the United States’ sovereign immunity. See Leleux, 178 F.3d at 754 (“[W]e note that the limited waiver of sovereign immunity contained in the FTCA should be narrowly-construed in favor of the United States.”). The district court therefore did not err in dismissing Wright’s alienation of affection claim.