Newly surfaced documents pointing to a 2019 marriage separation are the latest indicators that North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore entered into a relationship with a woman who was already in a shaky marriage — a chronological detail that could figure prominently in a bombshell alienation-of-affection lawsuit against him.
Scott Lassiter, a former Apex town councilman, sued Moore Sunday, alleging that an affair between Moore and Lassiter’s wife, Jamie Lassiter, led to the destruction of the Lassiters’ marriage. He is seeking $200,000 in damages.
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North Carolina is one of only a handful of states that allows someone to sue their spouse’s lover. The cases are rare and hinge on the spouse’s ability to prove that a third party is responsible for the demise of the marriage. Timing tends to play an important role in such cases.
Central to Scott Lassiter’s case is when the marriage started to crumble. Parties in the case have offered differing narratives on when, and for how long, the Lassiters had been separated and whether subsequent efforts to save the marriage were successful. The answers could support or undermine his case.
Scott Lassiter says in his lawsuit that he was separated from Jamie Lassiter in January and that they had been living happily until December, when he learned of her relationship with Moore.
Jamie Lassiter says her husband’s claims “are not only false but impossible, as we’ve been separated with a signed separation document for years.” She has also called the lawsuit “outrageous and defamatory.” When asked, she declined to provide a copy of a separation agreement.
Documents obtained by WRAL reveal that Scott Lassiter wrote and signed a note stating that the couple had separated for a time in May 2019. Scott Lassiter confirmed the authenticity of the note, the latest document to come to light suggesting that the Lassiters’ relationship had been rocky long before the split at the center of the allegations against Moore.
It was unclear Friday when in 2019 the relationship between Moore and Jamie Lassiter started or whether that relationship was related to the Lassiters’ separation in 2019.
Moore, who had been divorced for years when he and Jamie Lassiter began dating, told reporters Wednesday only that the two struck up a casual relationship in 2019. Moore said it was “sporadic at best,” and that Jamie Lassiter “always made it very clear to me that she was separated.”
“I can’t give you an estimate of how many times we were together or anything like that, and haven’t really sat down and thought through all the dates,” said Moore, who denied other allegations in the lawsuit — including the claim that he used his powerful position to coerce Jamie Lassiter, a state employee, into a relationship.
Jamie Lassiter and Moore didn’t respond to follow-up questions on key dates in the relationships. Alicia Jurney, a lawyer for Scott Lassiter, did not provide any evidence of Moore and Jamie Lassiter dating in 2019.
Legal teams representing Moore and Jamie Lassiter could use the 2019 separation note as evidence of a physical separation, said Lindsay Willis, an attorney who practices family law at Rosen Law Firm and is not involved with the case. “Establishing physical separation is crucial in cases like this,” she said.
Scott Lassiter’s legal team argues that the 2019 separation note doesn’t represent a significant break in the couple’s marriage. His lawyers say he signed and dated the note on June 1, 2019, when Jamie returned to their home after a few days away. “It was retrospective,” Jurney said.
“[Scott Lassiter] wrote the note at Mrs. Lassiter’s request. At the time, he thought Mrs. Lassiter wanted to underscore the significance of her brief absence and decision to return to their home,” Jurney said.
Jurney provided personal correspondence between the Lassiters to illustrate that Scott Lassiter was trying to make the marriage work and that they were in a loving relationship as recently as this year.
One text exchange from Dec. 21 shows Jamie Lassiter saying “I love you” to her husband. That same day, Scott Lassiter alleges in the lawsuit, his wife had sex with Moore at one of Moore’s Raleigh residences.
Jurney also shared a photo of another note that she says Scott Lassiter gave his wife — a note listing things he promised to do to make their relationship stronger when she returned to their home. Some of his listed action items include: “Scott will open up to Jamie and never seek emotional comfort from any other woman,” and “Scott will work to make Jamie happy again.”
Scott Lassiter’s promise to not seek emotional comfort from other women is a reference to calling his former girlfriend, Jurney said.
Jamie Lassiter declined to comment on Jurney’s explanation of the correspondence.
“It is painful to have Scott make daily attempts to try our case in the public eye and forces me to relive the details of our troubled marriage,” she told WRAL Thursday. “I have chosen to prioritize my privacy during this difficult time and will not have any further comments moving forward.”
Scott Lassiter’s notes — while potentially signifying a separation – could also be used as evidence to show reconciliation, said Willis, the independent attorney.
“Even if physical separation did occur, reconciliation afterwards would create a new timeline,” she said. “So, if there was a physical separation, the next big question is was there a reconciliation after?”
Willis said the question for the jury will be: Was the couple happy when Moore entered the picture?
“The marriage doesn’t have to be perfect, without any problems, for alienation to occur, it just has to be intact, with genuine love and affection,” she said.
An ‘extramarital affair’
The nature of Scott Lassiter’s contact with women outside his marriage is a point of contention between the couple. An apology letter he wrote to Jamie Lassiter in January as part of a couples counseling exercise raises questions about past infidelity.
“I am sorry that I engaged in an extramarital affair,” he wrote in a Jan. 17 letter, which was obtained by WRAL and verified as authentic by separate lawyers representing the Lassiters.
Scott Lassiter has denied having a sexual relationship outside his marriage. “There are a lot of different types of extramarital affairs, and they don’t all have to be sexual in nature.” he told WRAL on Wednesday.
Jurney said it was a reference to when he communicated with the ex-girlfriend. “Mr. Lassiter did not have an extramarital affair,” she told WRAL in an email. She added: “Mrs. Lassiter considered those communications [with his ex-girlfriend] an ‘affair.’ He was using the words that she did, even though he did not agree with the way she characterized the communications.”
In response to Jurney’s claim, Jamie Lassiter said in a text to WRAL Wednesday: “Please. That is a lie.”
Jamie Lassiter’s father, Marky Liles, said in an interview that Scott Lassiter acknowledged having an affair during a meeting with him on Jan. 8. Scott Lassiter invited Jamie Lassiter’s parents to his home to inform them of his wife’s relationship with Moore and to ask for their help in keeping the marriage together, Liles said. “And he admitted at that time that in 2019 he did have a sexual affair” of his own, Liles said.
Jurney acknowledged that Scott Lassiter had a conversation with Liles about attempting to save the marriage, but she denied that her client admitted to an affair.
Acquaintances of Scott Lassiter, meanwhile, have reached out to WRAL to describe the Lassiters’ marriage as happily intact even after his discovery of his wife’s relationship with Moore in December. The couple hosted parties together, they said. They were seen together at GOP events.
Jamie Lassiter has rejected that portrayal, sharing a screenshot of what she says was a text from her to Scott Lassiter on March 3.
“Just because we went to two political events together does not mean my opinions have changed and you need to understand that,” the text says, implying tension in the relationship.
‘Abuse of power’ allegation
Scott Lassiter has also alleged that the speaker committed “an egregious abuse of power” when he had an affair with Jamie Lassiter.
Jamie Lassiter is executive director of the North Carolina Conference of Clerks, meaning she’s a state employee since the organization is funded by the General Assembly. As House speaker, Moore has influence over the state budget.
Scott Lassiter claims his wife told him about the affair with Moore and confided in him that she and the speaker had group sex with people seeking political favors. Scott Lassiter has not produced evidence to support that claim. He also claims Jamie Lassiter wanted to save the marriage but that she couldn’t end the relationship with Moore for fear of retaliation.
At the legislature Wednesday, Moore said he never used his power as a state lawmaker to influence this romantic relationship or any other. “Absolutely, 100%, no,” Moore said.
Asked why Scott Lassiter would accuse him of abusing his power in an alienation-of-affection lawsuit, Moore suggested the plaintiff has financial motives.
“I have somebody trying to get money from me,” Moore said. “That’s generally why folks file lawsuits.”
WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain contributed to this report.