SHORT TAKES : Hurt Common-Law Ties Denied

Actor William Hurt, star of the recent film “The Accidental Tourist,” never had a common-law marriage with Sandra Jennings and took legal action to be sure he would never be her “accidental” husband, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Jennings, 33, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet, lost her palimony suit against Hurt, 39, last summer but is now asking the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court to reverse the lower-court decision.

Jennings hoped to have the court declare their relationship a common-law marriage so that she could later sue for divorce and seek half Hurt’s earnings, estimated at $10 million.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Hurt’s lawyer, Martin Shelton, said the actor went to great lengths to be legally recognized as the father of their son, Alex--not something a married man would do. He noted that Hurt signed a paternity agreement.

Jennings has argued that she and Hurt had a common-law marriage from Oct. 30, 1982, to Jan. 10, 1983, in South Carolina, during the filming of “The Big Chill.” Although most of their four-year relationship was spent in Manhattan, New York state does not recognize common-law marriages. Shelton accused Jennings of concocting the idea of a common-law marriage with a lawyer many years after she split with Hurt in 1984.