French Man Forced to Pay Ex-Wife for Lack of Sex
According to the British Newspaper The Telegraph, a 51-year-old French man has been fined 10,000 euros for failing to have sex with his ex-wife.
First, before addressing this bizarre divorce tale, it should be mentioned the odds of such a verdict occurring in an American courtroom are slim to none.
While there are some circumstances in which an American may be able to file a tort or contract claim for lack of affection, there is likely no law currently being enforced that requires couples to maintain a physical relationship.
This, however, is not the case with our neighbors across the pond. According to sources, the unlucky French man was fined under article 215 of France’s civil code.
The article in question states that married couples must agree to a “shared communal life.” At trial, a judge in the city of Nice, which is in southern France, ruled that this definition implies that “sexual relations must form part of a marriage.”
In the judge’s words, “A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent.”
The judge further ruled that, “[b]y getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other.”
The lawsuit for lack of sex happened two years after the man’s 47-year-old wife had filed for, and gained, a divorce.
After the divorce was granted, the woman filed the embarrassing lawsuit against her ex-husband, known in court records only as Jean-Louis B.
In the lawsuit, the woman alleged that she deserved compensation from Mr. B. under article 215 because she had suffered from “a lack of sex over 21 years of marriage.”
In his defense, which ultimately proved futile, the man cited “tiredness and health problems” as the reason for his amorous reluctance.
If any lesson is to be taken from this bizarre case, it’s that the law can be used in vastly different ways by divorcing couples, and that it helps to have a strong grasp on one’s legal rights under a particular jurisdiction.
As a result, many people going through a divorce prefer to contact a local divorce lawyer to gain more information about their legal options.
