Man fights payout for lover's husband

New York: A millionaire businessman has appealed to the US Supreme Court after he was ordered to pay $750,000 (Dh2.7 million) to the husband of a woman with whom he had an affair.

Jerry Fitch, a Mississippi property broker, wants America's highest court to limit his liability under an obscure law that still allows spurned spouses in some states to sue for "alienation of affection".

His current wife, Sandra, was married to plumber, Johnny Valentine, when she was hired by Fitch's company. Within a year, she and Fitch began an affair and she became pregnant.

She told Valentine that his suspicions about adultery were unfounded but he discovered through a genetic test the baby was not his.

He sued for divorce and then sued Fitch, who is worth $22 million, according to the Mississippi Supreme Court.