The common-law defense of interspousal immunity in tort is abolished and shall not constitute a valid defense to any such cause of action arising on or after July 1, 1981.
§ 8.01-220.1.Defense of interspousal immunity abolished as to certain causes of action arising on or after July 1, 1981.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 21. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 1981 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-220.1 abolishes the common-law defense of interspousal immunity in tort, so one spouse can no longer automatically block the other’s tort claim just because they are married, for any cause of action arising on or after July 1, 1981.
Full Text of § 8.01-220.1
Plain-English Summary
Interspousal immunity was a common-law rule that barred one spouse from suing the other in tort at all, on the theory that the law treated husband and wife as a single legal unit. That rule shielded a spouse from liability for a car accident, an assault, or any other tortious act committed against the other spouse, no matter how meritorious the claim might otherwise have been.
This section eliminates that defense. It applies to any cause of action arising on or after July 1, 1981, meaning a spouse can no longer raise the marriage itself as a stand-alone bar to a tort suit brought by the other spouse for conduct occurring on or after that date. The underlying claim still has to be proven like any other tort claim — this section only removes marital status as an automatic defense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one spouse sue the other for a car accident in Virginia?
Generally yes. Section 8.01-220.1 abolished the common-law defense of interspousal immunity for causes of action arising on or after July 1, 1981, so marital status alone no longer bars the claim.
What was interspousal immunity?
A common-law doctrine holding that spouses could not sue each other in tort, based on the legal fiction that marriage merged husband and wife into a single legal identity.
Does this section apply to claims arising before July 1, 1981?
The statute abolishes the defense only for causes of action arising on or after that date, so its effect on earlier conduct depends on the law that governed before this section took effect.
Does abolishing interspousal immunity guarantee a spouse will win a tort suit against the other spouse?
No. The plaintiff spouse still has to prove every element of the underlying tort claim; this section removes only the automatic marital-status defense, not any other defense that might apply.
Does this section apply to claims other than personal injury?
The abolition applies to tort claims between spouses generally — the statute is not limited to personal-injury suits, and it reaches “any such cause of action” sounding in tort.
Amendment History
1981, c. 451.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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