Spurned Dad Files Suit for Alienation of Affection

A Canadian millionaire who contends the mother of his children turned his children against him has sued her for alienation of affection.

Moses Segal contends in the New Jersey lawsuit that his former common-law wife, Cynthia Lynch, cut off all contact between him and his two children, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. He seeks compensatory and punitive damages for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

New Jersey courts have abolished the tort of alienation of a spouse’s affection. The few courts that have considered the tort in the context of children have split on whether the claim could go forward. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Virginia law, affirmed an emotional distress award in such a case, while a Wisconsin court refused to allow an alienation suit to proceed.

Lynch’s lawyer, Lynn Newsome, says Segal has been uncooperative and is “the most litigious litigant I've ever dealt with.”