Also known as:heartbalm · heartbalm actions · alienation of affections · breach of promise
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of civil claims arising from broken romantic promises or interference with marital relations. Most states have abolished these actions by statute. Where retained the claims are treated as quasi-tort and quasi-contract actions that permit recovery of actual expenditures made in preparation for marriage together with damages for mental anguish reputational harm and injury to health but exclude recovery for lost expected benefits such as social or financial position.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Broken Engagement and Reliance Costs
Hakim Hall proposed to Hannah Hale and she accepted. She spent several thousand dollars on a wedding dress venue deposits and relocation expenses in anticipation of the marriage. Hakim later ended the engagement without marrying her. Hannah sued in the jurisdiction that still recognizes the action seeking reimbursement for those outlays and compensation for emotional distress. The court permitted recovery of the proven preparation expenditures and mental anguish damages but denied any award for the social status or financial advantages she expected from the marriage.
Spouse Injury and Consortium Claim
Hugo Hart suffered a workplace injury at Highland Steel. His wife Hilda Hernandez sued the employer for loss of consortium arising from the harm to their marital relationship. The court recognized her independent claim for the direct injury to the marital interests even though the loss of certain elements had been addressed in Hugo's own suit.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Common Law
Restatements
Casebooks
Hitaffer v. Argonne Co.183 F.2d 811 (D.C. Cir. 1950)
Legislative Divorce and Marital Status
Hana Huang and Hamid Hassan obtained a legislative divorce after years of marriage. Hana later challenged the validity of the divorce in a proceeding that questioned whether the legislature possessed authority to dissolve the marital relation. The court upheld the legislative action as an exercise of sovereign power over the domestic relation rather than a mere contract.
Maynard v. Hill125 U.S. 190
Cohabitation Agreement After Separation
Hudson Partners founder Hugo Hart and his former domestic partner Hannah Hale had lived together for several years without marrying. After separation Hannah sought enforcement of an oral agreement to share assets acquired during the relationship. The court treated the claim as an ordinary contract action rather than a heart balm action and permitted recovery of the agreed share.
Marvin v. Marvin557 P.2d 106 (Cal. 1976)
Full Faith and Credit for Divorce Decree
Hilda Hernandez obtained a divorce decree in one state after satisfying the jurisdictional requirements there. Her former spouse Hamid Hassan later attacked the decree in a second state on the ground that the first court lacked jurisdiction. The court enforced the decree under full faith and credit principles and refused to permit collateral attack.
Sherrer v. Sherrer334 U.S. 343 (1948)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What damages may a plaintiff recover in a retained heart balm action for breach of promise to marry?+
Recovery is limited to actual expenditures made in preparation for the marriage and to tort-type harms such as mental anguish reputational injury and harm to health. Expectancy damages for lost social position or future financial benefits from the marriage itself are not recoverable.
Supporting sources
Why have most states abolished heart balm actions?+
Legislatures concluded that these claims invite litigation over personal and emotional matters that are better left outside the courts and that the social policy of preventing suits for broken hearts outweighs any compensatory benefit.
Supporting sources
Does a heart balm statute bar an action to recover an engagement ring after the engagement ends?+
No. Courts distinguish the statutory abolition of breach-of-promise claims from ordinary property actions such as detinue or replevin that seek return of the ring as a conditional gift given in contemplation of marriage.
Supporting sources
125 U.S. 190Family Law
…Wade v. Kalbfleisch , 58 N. Y. 282, 284, the question came before the Court of Appeals of New York whether an action for breach of promise of marriage was an action upon a contract within the meaning of certain provisions of the Revised Statutes of that State, and in disposing of the question the court said: “The general…