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A woman facing a $9  million judgment for having an affair with a married man plans to appeal.

Anne Lundquist, 49 , now of Aurora, N.Y. , said Thursday  the court system did not give her enough warning about when the case was going to trial and did not grant her a continuance to prepare. She had decided to represent herself because she could not hire an attorney.

“I’m so caught off guard by everything,” Lundquist said in a telephone interview. “I don’t have a lot of money, so where this $9 million comes from is kind of hysterical.”

Lundquist said she is trying to find a North Carolina attorney to handle the appeal and look into whether the courts followed procedure in notifying her of court dates.

She did not attend, nor was she represented by an attorney, at the two-day  trial earlier this week.

On Tuesday , a jury awarded Cynthia Shackelford  money for alienation of affections, criminal conversation (legal speak for adultery) and intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress.

North Carolina remains one of a few states that allow someone to sue the person who interferes in a marriage — called alienation of affection. More than 200  such cases are filed statewide in an average year, according to the Rosen  law firm in Raleigh.

Shackelford, 60 , now of Raleigh , sued Lundquist in 2007 , charging that the younger woman’s affair with her husband ruined their marriage.

Shackelford said her husband, Allan Shackelford,  met Lundquist while providing legal services for Guilford College .

 Lundquist was the dean for campus life  at the private school.

Court records show Cynthia Shackelford remains married to Allan Shackelford, 62 . They have been separated since 2005  pending divorce proceedings.

Lundquist and Allan Shackelford contend the Shackelfords’ marriage was irreparable before their relationship began.

They remain a couple and live together in Aurora, N.Y. Lundquist is the dean of students at Wells College , a small private school.

Lundquist said friends have stopped by to see how she’s doing after news broke of the court case.

She said she had to write an e-mail telling her college’s president about the situation.

“Everybody knows already,” she said.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com