Hanover v. Ruch

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

We are asked to decide whether the common-law tort of criminal conversation should be abolished in Tennessee. The trial court jury found that the defendant had committed the tort of criminal conversation, and awarded the plaintiff compensatory and punitive damages.

The relevant facts are undisputed. The defendant, Robert M. Ruch, M.D., is a gynecologist. The plaintiff is Jerome Hanover, whose wife, Sandra Hanover, was Dr. Ruch’s patient. The sexual affair between Dr. Ruch and Sandra Hanover began in late October of 1983, and continued for two years, until November of…