Missouri appeals court voids $1 million in punitive damages against therapist in affair case

A Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld most of a jury’s decision against a licensed therapist who became sexually involved with a woman during her counseling sessions, but it has removed $1 million in punitive damages from the judgment. The case, Anita Karase v. Craig Politte, was decided on November 10, 2026, and centres on allegations that Craig Politte exploited the therapeutic relationship with Anita Karase, a woman he had initially counselled alongside her husband, as mentioned on Justia U.S Law's website.The appeals court affirmed the jury’s findings on medical negligence, battery, and a violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. It reversed only the negligence per se claim, which had carried the $1 million punitive award, because it found that Missouri’s counselor ethics regulations do not create a separate private cause of action for that type of claim.How the relationship beganAccording to the court record, Politte began counselling Karase’s husband in 2018 through his private practice, Life Counseling Centers. He later provided couples therapy to Karase and her husband, then began seeing Karase individually.The court found that Politte did not discuss the potential conflict created by simultaneously providing couples and individual counseling to the same couple. Karase also did not sign an informed consent form before beginning therapy.