Few states let one person sue another over the end of a marriage. North Carolina does, and on Thursday a jury in that state used the law to award a woman $850,000.
The defendant is Jennifer Jo Cobb, a 53-year-old racer in NASCAR’s Truck Series.
The plaintiff is Tracey Hughes, who filed suit against Cobb in 2024 over a relationship with her husband, Clayton Odie Hughes.
Jurors ruled for Hughes on two claims: criminal conversation and alienation of affection. The $850,000 award comes from those claims.
Clayton Hughes was not a party in the case. Hughes brought the action alone, and the verdict addressed her claims against the driver.
The marriage at the center of the dispute lasted 17 years. Hughes argues that a hidden relationship between her husband and Cobb ended it.
Her complaint describes the couple as “happily married” until 2021. WBTV reported on the filing, which places the breakup in that year.
The document names Cobb in direct terms. It accuses the driver of having “willfully, intentionally, and deliberately seduced, enticed, and alienated the affections” of Clayton Hughes away from his wife.
Cobb’s racing career forms the backdrop of the filing. According to the complaint, she competed in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series between 2001 and 2024.
The complaint alleges the relationship with Clayton Hughes lasted several months. It says Cobb stayed in contact with him by phone and text while she traveled to races.
The filing also says the two arranged “regular trysts.” Those allegations formed the core of the case Hughes presented to the jury.
Hughes’ lawsuit itemizes what she says the relationship cost her. It states she “suffered the loss of support, injury to [her] feelings and reputation, and had her marital relationship destroyed,”
That language covers four categories of harm: financial support, emotional well-being, public reputation and the marriage itself. Hughes asked the court to hold Cobb responsible for all of it.
The legal basis for the suit sits in North Carolina’s so-called “homewrecker law.” The statute allows a person to sue over claims that wrongful or malicious conduct wrecked a marriage.
North Carolina is among a handful of states that offer this option. Most states do not allow such lawsuits.
The law also imposes a time limit. A plaintiff must file within three years of the actions the defendant allegedly took to wreck the marriage.
Hughes met that window. She says the marriage fell apart in 2021 and filed her complaint in 2024.
The statute is drawing attention in another courtroom as well.
In a separate case, a judge recently ruled that Senator Krystem Sinema can be sued under the homewrecker law over her relationship with a member of her security detail.
For now, the jury’s decision leaves Cobb facing an $850,000 judgment.
The verdict rests on the allegations in Hughes’ complaint: the phone calls, the text messages, the “regular trysts” and the end of a 17-year marriage.
