but I think that he made some bad choices."

Lawsuits by jilted spouses appear to be on the rise. Most are settled before trial, and they are filed by men as well as women.

In January, a North Carolina jury awarded Lynn Blackwell Falls nearly $1.2 million for the breakup of her 17-year marriage.

Falls' lawyer, Ed Parker, argued to the jury "that our marriages are the foundation of our society."

But what may have made a bigger impression on jurors was a video of her husband, Keith Falls, and employee Sheila Noah having sex on a conference room floor at his accounting firm. The video was taken by a camera hidden in the ceiling by Lynn Falls' private detective.

North Carolina is one of a few states where spouses can sue forHe wrote her love poems and songs.

Cox met Joe Hutelmyer when she worked as his secretary at an insurance company. Witnesses testified that Cox, just separated from her husband, began wearing contact lenses, more makeup and shorter skirts.

Their off-and-on affair started in late 1993. Joseph Hutelmyer said he had marital problems but then said he had to go back to his family because of their three children, said Cox's lawyer, Wayne Abernathy.

The Hutelmyers separated in January 1996. Cox, who is in her early 40s, and Hutelmyer, 43, married last spring.

Dorothy Hutelmyer, 40, decided to sue after finding out about the affair - after her marriage broke up. She's glad she did, and not just because of the money. "It does bring some sense of closure," she said.

But Cox's