Wumei Helped the Client Obtain a High Amount of 60,000 Yuan in Spiritual Damage Compensation.

According to Article 46 of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, if one party causes divorce due to bigamy or cohabitation with others during the marriage relationship, the innocent party has the right to claim damages. However, in practice, even if one party does not have the fault circumstances specified in Article 46 of the Marriage Law, when the court determines that one party has violated the obligation of marital fidelity based on the specific circumstances of the case, it will also support the other party's claim for spiritual damage compensation.

He and Yi met through relatives in 20**, and shortly after getting to know each other, they registered their marriage on [Month] [Day], 20**. They had a son on [Month] [Day], 20**.

Before marriage, the two lacked understanding and got married hastily. After marriage, He discovered that Yi was unfaithful to the marriage and had improper sexual relationships with multiple opposite-sex partners outside the marriage. He even concealed the fact that he was married and had children, lived together with one of the opposite-sex partners, Luo, and had a son with her in [Month] 20**.

After learning about Yi's actions, He found through investigation that Yi even went to Luo's home to visit her parents during the Spring Festival and promised her parents that he would marry Luo. What was even more outrageous was that Yi's parents had long known about Yi's deception but did not stop him; instead, they even helped Yi deceive He, causing irreparable harm to He.

For this reason, He filed a lawsuit with the court, claiming:

The focus of dispute in this case is how to determine that Yi violated the obligation of marital fidelity during the marriage relationship and whether He's claim for spiritual damage compensation is supported by the court.

In this case, Yi had improper sexual relationships with others and had an illegitimate child during the marriage relationship. Under the guidance of her lawyer, He collected evidence including audio recordings of Yi admitting his infidelity, the birth certificate of Yi's illegitimate child, and intimate photos of Yi and Luo to prove the fact that Yi violated the obligation of marital fidelity during the marriage relationship, which was presented to the court.

Although the court ultimately did not confirm the fact that Yi cohabited with others during the marriage relationship in the judgment, it also applied Article 46, Paragraph 2 of the Marriage Law by analogy. In the judgment, it determined that Yi was unfaithful to the marriage and was the at-fault party, and finally supported He's claim for spiritual damage compensation, with the compensation amount as high as 60,000 yuan.

Through searching for cases, the author found that the court has relatively strict standards for determining that one party has committed bigamy or cohabitation with others. However, in cases where the at-fault party in the marriage has an illegitimate child with others (i.e., the so-called "illegitimate son/daughter" in common terms), the handling opinions of some courts are consistent with this case, that is, applying Article 46, Paragraph 2 of the Marriage Law by analogy to support the innocent party's claim for spiritual damage compensation.