Work to Be Done

Abstract

This chapter focuses on law reform. I argue that courts are more likely to reach wise decisions if they begin with a rebuttable presumption that a plaintiff suing a deceptive intimate will have the same causes of action available to her that she would have when suing an equivalently deceptive nonintimate. I also explore how to improve the legal regulation of intimate deception before plaintiffs file suit. The law now adds to the tremendous incentives that can exist to deceive an intimate, but legislatures and courts should instead work to counter such incentives. The law often helps people succeed in duping their intimates and taking advantage of them, but legislators and judges should instead look for opportunities to thwart deceivers. In short, legal reforms designed to better recognize, prevent, and remediate harms inflicted through intimate deception should reorient the judicial response to litigation and also extend beyond courtrooms.