A federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit a Pennsylvania woman brought against her ex-boyfriend claiming he knowingly gave her herpes, the New York Daily News reported.
Sheryl Smith accused her ex Andrew McGill Whelan for encouraging unprotected sex with her while he had herpes, which he kept a secret from her for two years. Smith filed a lawsuit against Whelan in 2011 and a federal judge ruled in 2013 that the statute of limitations on Smiths claims had run out.
Smith filed an appeal against the judge's decision in a Philadelphia court, only to have the court on Wednesday uphold the lower court's ruling against her.
In her initial suit Smith claimed Whelan did not tell her he had type 2 herpes when they met in 2008 and that he already had the virus for years. Whelan repeatedly coaxed Smith into having unprotected sex, telling her "there was no reason for us to use condoms," according to the lawsuit obtained by the Daily News.
About five months after the two began having sex, a gynecologist told Smith she had herpes. Knowing that she had no other sexual partner since 2006, Smith confronted Whelan. Her ex-boyfriend denied he had herpes, the Daily News reported. He did not admit to knowing he had the virus until June 2010.
Smith filed a lawsuit against Whelan for misrepresentation and negligence. But a federal judge in Delaware said she exceeded the statute of limitations when she filed her lawsuit in 2011. Furthermore, the judge told Smith she should have filed charges against her boyfriend the moment she knew she had herpes, even if he did not admit it then, the newspaper reported.
The Philadelphia appeals court sided with the Delaware judge's decision. The panel agreed that Smith had enough evidence at the time of her diagnosis to reasonably believe it came from Whelan.
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
