Criminal conversation

At common law, criminal conversation, commonly known as crim. con., is a tort arising from adultery, abolished in many jurisdictions.

It is similar to breach of promise, a tort involving a broken engagement against the betrothed, and alienation of affection, a tort action brought by a deserted spouse against a third party.

Initially, criminal conversation was an action brought by a husband for compensation for the breach of fidelity with his wife.

The tort was abolished in England and Wales in 1857, but persisted in Ireland long after (Northern Ireland retained it until 1939, and the Republic of Ireland until 1976). It still exists in parts of the United States, but the application has changed. At least 29 states have abolished the tort by statute and another 4 have abolished it judicially.

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 £10-20 million in today's terms), could be demanded by the plaintiff, for debauching his wife. These suits were conducted at the Court of the King's Bench in Westminster Hall, and were highly publicised by publishers such as Edmund Curll and in the newspapers of the day. Although neither the plaintiff, defendant, nor the wife accused of the adultery was permitted to take the stand, evidence of the adulterous behaviour was presented by servants or observers.

A number of very sensational cases were heard in the second half of the 18th century, including Grosvenor v. Cumberland in 1769, where Lord Grosvenor sued the King's brother, the Duke of Cumberland for crim con with his wife, being awarded damages of £10,000; and Worsley v. Bisset in 1782, where Sir Richard Worsley lost his case against George Bisset, after it had been found that he had colluded in his own dishonour by showing his friend his wife, Seymour Dorothy Fleming, naked in a bath-house (technically he won the case, as the fact of adultery was not contested, but the jury awarded only one shilling damages). In 1796, the Earl of Westmeath was awarded £10,000 against his wife's lover, Augustus Bradshaw.

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