A Davidson County jury has ordered former NASCAR driver Jennifer Jo Cobb to pay $850,000 over an alleged affair with a married man. His wife sued under two old common-law claims that North Carolina still keeps on the books: alienation of affection and criminal conversation. The North Carolina General Assembly has the power to end these lawsuits, and it should repeal both laws.

These laws let a spouse sue an outside person for the breakdown of a marriage. Criminal conversation does not require proof that the marriage was happy or that the outside person caused it to fail. It only requires proof of sex during the marriage. In this case, $800,000 of the award came from that one claim alone.

The outcomes are also hard to predict. Juries set the amount with few limits, so similar cases can end in very different payouts. Here, the lawsuit was filed three years after the couple separated in January 2021, and the verdict arrived more than five years after the split.

North Carolina is one of only a handful of states that still allow these lawsuits, and New Mexico's Supreme Court ended them there in January 2026. People across the political spectrum have reasons to agree. Some see these laws as government reaching into private life. Others see unlimited jury awards as a burden on families and courts. Divorce courts already handle property, support, and custody. A separate lawsuit against a third party often adds cost and conflict long after a marriage has ended.

The General Assembly can fix this with one bill. Sign the petition to tell North Carolina lawmakers to repeal alienation of affection and criminal conversation this session, before more families spend years fighting in court.