[TX] [TX] What evidence does it take to sue for fraud?

Lexi, Chatbot

I'm sorry to hear about what you’ve been through with your ex-girlfriend. Can you provide more details about the texts where she admitted to lying about having cancer?

Lexi, Chatbot

Have you sought any legal advice or counseling regarding this situation?

Lexi, Chatbot

Is there anything else the lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they’ll be able to help with emotional distress and fraud.

TJ, Esq.

Hello! My name is TJ and I’m an attorney. Thanks so much for the opportunity to assist you! I reviewed what you wrote and I’m about to post my initial answer. While I finalize that, can you please let me know if you’re available for an online chat right now?

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TJ, Esq.

You might have a shot at making a claim for fraud if you can show you relied on her lie and it caused you financial harm, like lost wages. As for emotional distress, that’s often a really tough claim to win because the conduct has to be truly extreme and outrageous, and it’s difficult to put a dollar figure on emotional suffering.

TJ, Esq.

You may not have a clear path to win on the emotional distress claim. I’m sorry to give you that disappointing news.

Questions for you:
Did you lose any money directly because of her lie, like if you spent money on her care that you wouldn’t have otherwise?
What state do you live in?

TJ, Esq.

Thank you for getting back to me, and thanks for your patience with my questions.

Given that you didn’t lose money directly on her care, a fraud claim becomes much harder to win. Fraud generally requires some sort of financial damage that you can point to and say, “Because of her lie, I lost X dollars.” If your losses were more about your time and emotional energy rather than actual money out of your pocket, it complicates things significantly for a typical fraud case.

For emotional distress (intentional infliction of emotional distress or IIED), the bar is very high. You’d have to prove that her conduct was absolutely extreme and outrageous. While her lie about having cancer is awful and certainly caused you distress, proving it meets the legal standard can be difficult.

The fact that you forgave her for the cancer lie could also make it harder to argue that her conduct caused ongoing severe distress. Emotional pain from infidelity or a breakup, while devastating, generally isn’t something the legal system compensates for.

So, while what she did was terrible, recovering damages through a lawsuit would likely be an uphill battle. The legal system isn’t really set up to address all emotional wrongs in personal relationships, especially when there’s no clear financial loss directly tied to the deception.

Do you have any follow-up questions?

TJ, Esq.

Thank you for that additional detail. The fact that you sacrificed work days and your business partner can back that up is important, especially for a potential fraud claim.

Even though you didn’t spend money directly on her care, the time you lost from work — which directly impacted your income — could be considered a form of financial damage. In a fraud case, you generally need to show actual damages, and lost income from time spent tending to her at her false request might qualify.

For the emotional distress claim, proving severe distress caused by extreme and outrageous conduct remains the main hurdle. While the lost work and emotional toll are certainly distressing, courts typically reserve IIED claims for conduct that’s truly beyond the pale, like harassment or threats.

So, while the lost work time could support a fraud claim as a component of damages, the emotional distress claim remains very challenging given the high legal bar for “extreme and outrageous” conduct.