Although the general legal usage exists (cf. the Webster definition), the most common occurrence of the term is in reference to proceedings for divorce on the grounds of adultery; here the co-respondent is the (alleged} sexual partner of the respondent. In some legal systems (e.g. England and Wales) the co-respondent in such a case may be liable to pay damages to the complainant, although they are rarely granted nowadays. In earlier times the stigma of being cited as co-respondent in a divorce case could break careers in public life, as was the case for Irish nationalist Charles Parnell.