Gorder v. Sims

As the majority points out, actions of this kind are not a favorite of the law and have been abolished by statute in a number of jurisdictions. I share the concern demonstrated by the trial judge in his abortive effort to grant defendant a new trial, Gorder v. Sims, 297 Minn. 346, 211 N. W. 2d 369 (1973).

Jury awards in actions of this kind are explicitly or implicitly in the nature of punitive damages. Accordingly, they should be limited to an amount which is commensurate with the gravity of defendant’s intrusion into plaintiff’s marital relationship. The *285record here is replete with evidence…