Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 19, 1990 TAG: 9004190691
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B6 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
John R. Covey Jr. is seeking $150,000 in damages from Paula H. Covey of Troutville for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Covey alleges that since the divorce, his ex-wife has intentionally interfered with his relationship with the children "by slanderous statements and various court proceedings" aimed at denying him visitation.
The couple divorced in 1976 after 11 years of marriage. Paula Covey was awarded custody of the couple's two daughters.
The suit alleges that Paula Covey "consistently told the daughters that their father is a sexual pervert who will rape them if given the opportunity, that John R. Covey believes in incest, that they are never to be alone with him, that he does not love them, that he is a liar, and other similarly outrageous and false statements."
The suit further claims that the result of Paula Covey's "continued defamation" caused his daughters to resist visitation and to become estranged from him to the point that he has not visited with his younger daughter since 1986.
Covey, a commercial airline pilot, alleges in the suit that his younger daughter is afraid to visit with him because she is "fearful of his alleged sexual intentions."
Jonathan Rogers, Covey's attorney, said Covey's relationship with his daughters had deteriorated over the years. He didn't know why, but learned recently when his eldest daughter wrote him a letter detailing her reasons for their estrangement.
"She broke the wedge by being away at college," Rogers said. "She realized that she had lost something precious and wrote a letter telling why she was estranged and why her younger sister was estranged."
The lawsuit parallels a 1985 case in which a New York man sued his ex-wife for intentionally destroying his relationship with his son and was awarded $50,000 in damages, Rogers said.
by CNB