Opinion ID: 1098133
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether the chancellor erred in granting a divorce to teresa on the grounds of habitual drunkenness and cruel and inhuman treatment without a finding of fact?

Text: ¶ 33. Thomas contends that the chancellor's statements in the judgment are not sufficiently detailed findings of fact as required by case law in the State of Mississippi. This issue is without merit. ¶ 34. Findings of fact made by the chancellor may not be set aside or disturbed on appeal unless manifestly wrong. Cheek v. Ricker, 431 So.2d 1139, 1143 (Miss.1983). This is so whether the finding relates to an evidentiary fact or an ultimate fact. Id. A corollary principle is that with respect to issues of fact where the chancellor made no specific finding, this Court is required to assume that the chancellor resolved all such fact issues in favor of Teresa. Id. at 1143. ¶ 35. In the judgment, the chancellor stated: [T]he Court finds by clear and convincing, corroborated testimony that Defendant drank alcoholic beverages regularly during the course of the marriage as to be habitually drunk on frequently enough occasion which resulting in conduct so counter to what would be acceptable in a marriage and which further resulted in the separation of the parties giving Plaintiff grounds for divorce as contemplated by section 93-5-1 of the Mississippi Code of 1972. The conduct of Defendant during the periods of intoxication resulted in threats toward Plaintiff involving firearms on several occasions would also constitute habitual cruel and inhuman treatment by any standard of normalcy expected between a husband and wife in a marriage so as to put Plaintiff in fear of her safety and well being. It is clear from a thorough reading of the record that the findings of the chancellor are sufficiently supported by the record, and the chancellor's findings are not manifestly wrong. Teresa; her mother, Sheila Daniels; and Teresa's apartment neighbor, Rashel Willis, testified that they had seen Thomas drunk on a regular basis and that he had violent tendencies. Teresa stated on the record that Thomas pointed a firearm at her and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave. She also testified that he would clean his firearms in front of her, when he knew it frightened her. Further, Thomas admitted that he had pointed a firearm at his wife. Added to this all of these indications of violence was the fact that Thomas made repeated threats on his wife's life and harassed and stalked her once she moved out of the marital home as indicated by the sheriffs report in the record. ¶ 36. Thomas argues that it was error for the chancellor to find that Thomas threatened Teresa with firearms on several occasions in light of the fact that Thomas denied doing this. This Court has clearly stated that the chancellor, as a trier of fact, is charged with assessing the credibility of the witnesses and deciding what weight to give the testimony and evidence. Ellis v. Ellis, 248 Miss. 483, 490, 160 So.2d 904, 907-08 (1964). The chancellor sees the witnesses first hand and can observe their demeanor. He is in a much better position to assess the worth of any particular testimony than is an appellate court only reviewing a written transcript. In the case sub judice, the chancellor made no specific finding of fact regarding the credibility of the Thomas's testimony. Therefore, it must be assumed he did not give much weight to Thomas's testimony, and, instead, gave more weight and credibility to Teresa's testimony. ¶ 37. Thomas also argues that the testimony regarding firearms was not corroborated. A divorce will not be granted on the uncorroborated testimony of the complainant, except where the circumstances make such corroboration not reasonably possible. Anderson v. Anderson, 190 Miss. 508, 200 So. 726, 727 (1941). Teresa's testimony revealed that the incidents with firearms occurred while the parties were alone and inside the house, making corroboration not reasonably possible. ¶ 38. The chancellor's findings of fact are sufficient under Mississippi law.