Daegu Divorce Law Firm | A Case in Which Half of the Damages for Emotional Distress Was Recovered Through a Reimbursement Claim With the Assistance of Daeryun

The client began a relationship with a colleague met at work, even though the client knew that the colleague had a spouse.

They met many times over long periods without the spouse’s knowledge, and eventually the spouse became aware of this fact and filed a consolation money claim.

The consolation money the client paid was 20 million won.

The client expressed a sense of grievance that the client alone had paid the entire consolation money, pointing to the fact that the other party had continually requested the meetings.

🔗Daeryun’s Daegu office promised to assist the client with the reimbursement (indemnity) claim.

As in the case of the client above, where an affair partner commits an act of infidelity with one spouse and thereby infringes upon or interferes with the maintenance of the marital community life that constitutes the essence of marriage, and infringes upon the responsibilities and rights of the remaining spouse, thereby inflicting emotional suffering upon them, this is, in principle, regarded as a tort.

For this reason, there are many cases in which consolation money is obtained through a damages lawsuit against the affair partner.

If a person is sued by an affair partner, after paying the plaintiff consolation money, the person may bring a reimbursement (indemnity) claim against the other party with whom they committed the act of infidelity (the plaintiff’s spouse), seeking that the partner pay a portion of the consolation money on their behalf.

Joint tortfeasors bear joint and several liability in relation to the creditor, but among the joint tortfeasors there is a certain share of the burden, which is determined according to the degree of fault of each joint tortfeasor. Where one of the joint tortfeasors discharges more than their own share of the burden and thereby obtains a common discharge of liability, that tortfeasor may exercise a right of reimbursement against the other joint tortfeasors in proportion to their share of the burden (see Supreme Court Decision 98Da52469, February 26, 1999, among others).

The Daegu divorce law firm actively argued that there were considerable circumstances indicating that the other party had led the act of infidelity. The defendant invited the client to the defendant’s home and continued to hold on to the client, who was trying to end the relationship with the defendant, contacting the client and leading the act of infidelity.

The breakdown of the marital relationship between the defendant and the defendant’s spouse was not caused solely by the act of infidelity with the client. The firm argued that, considering that the defendant had committed acts of infidelity with other adulterous male partners in addition to the client, and that the period of the act of infidelity with the client was very short, the liability for the 20 million won in consolation money did not rest entirely with the client.

Because an act of infidelity is recognized as a joint tort committed by both parties, a reimbursement claim is also regarded as one of the legitimate rights.

In a reimbursement claim lawsuit, it is, above all, important to firmly establish the arguments and supporting grounds regarding the proportion of fault between oneself and the other party.

Therefore, seeking the assistance of a lawyer is advisable.

Daeryun LLC provides assistance to clients who wish to pursue a consolation money or reimbursement claim lawsuit through the collaboration of a 🔗divorce litigation lawyerand a 🔗civil litigation lawyer.