NC House Speaker Sued for Alienation of Affection, Accused of Extra-Marital Affair with State Employee

NC House Speaker Tim Moore. Photo Credit: Twitter / @timmoorenc

By Zack Hill

A Wake County assistant principal is suing North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore for alienation of affection, according to a lawsuit obtained by multiple news sources Sunday.

Scott Riley Lassiter, assistant principal at Connections Academy Middle School in Raleigh, alleges Moore (R-Cleveland) had an extramarital affair with Lassiter’s wife, Jamie Liles Lassiter, who is a state employee.

The lawsuit says Lassiter began surveilling his wife on Dec. 21 of last year after hearing rumors of an inappropriate relationship between her and Moore and that his wife told the plaintiff she was going to a movie with a female friend.

Rather than the movie, the lawsuit says she met Moore for dinner at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Raleigh. On Dec. 26, Lassiter says he met Moore to confront him about the affair and that Moore admitted to having a multi-year sexual relationship with his wife.

Lassiter accuses Moore of then having asked if “he could do anything for him,” implying he could use his power to help Mr. Lassiter in some way.

Mr. Lassiter is seeking $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The couple separated on Jan. 11 after 10 years of marriage, according to the lawsuit.

Moore released a statement Monday that reads in part, “This is a baseless lawsuit from a troubled individual. We will vigorously defend this action and pursue all available legal remedies.”

Jamie Lassiter also released the following statement Monday:

“Scott Lassiter has serious mental health and substance abuse issues, which I can only assume led him to file this outrageous and defamatory suit. The claims are not only false but impossible as we’ve been separated with a signed separation document for years. To be clear, I’m a strong professional woman, and the only person who has ever abused me or threatened my career was my soon to be ex-husband. Our marriage was a nightmare, and since I left him it has gotten worse. We are reaching the end of our divorce process and this is how he’s lashing out. I plead with you to respect my privacy and don’t give this unhinged man a platform to harass and humiliate me any further.”