Opinion ID: 1698227
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: whether the lower court erred in denying eddie daigle, jr., appellant, a divorce on the ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment.

Text: Eddie contends the lower court erred in denying him a divorce on the grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. This Court has recently restated the basis for divorce on the ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. In order to establish habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment, the evidence should prove conduct that: either endanger[s] life, limb, or health, or create[s] a reasonable apprehension of such danger, rendering the relationship unsafe for the party seeking relief, or in the alternative, be so unnatural and infamous as to make the marriage revolting to the offending spouse and render it impossible for that spouse to discharge the duties of the marriage, thus destroying the basis for its continuance. S. Hand, Mississippi Divorce, Alimony and Child Custody § 4-12 (2d ed. Supp. 1991). Gardner v. Gardner, 618 So.2d 108, 113-114 (Miss. 1993) (quoting Rawson v. Buta, 609 So.2d 426, 431 (Miss. 1992)). Although cruel and inhuman treatment usually must be shown to have been `systematic and continuous,' see Robinson v. Robinson, 554 So.2d 300, 303 (Miss. 1989), a single incident may provide grounds for divorce. Ellzey v. Ellzey, 253 So.2d 249, 250 (Miss. 1971)... . A causal connection between the treatment and separation must exist. Fournet v. Fournet, 481 So.2d 326, 328 (Miss. 1985)... . Gardner, 618 So.2d at 114. The ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment may be established by a preponderance of the evidence, rather than clear and convincing evidence, and the charge means something more than unkindness or rudeness or mere incompatibility or want of affection. Smith v. Smith, 614 So.2d 394, 396 (Miss. 1993) (quoting Wires v. Wires, 297 So.2d 900, 902 (Miss. 1974)). The chancellor was correct in denying Eddie a divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment. The instances that Eddie cited appear to be isolated ones. The fact that Shannon threw a glass at Eddie upon learning that he had strong emotional feelings for another woman is not an unheard of reaction in such a situation. Although violent in nature, Shannon's attack of Pat Gary's office window posed no immediate danger to Eddie. The other instances alleged, i.e., constant bickering, hassling him about working too much, and the lack of intimacy, are insufficient to rise to something more than unkindness or rudeness or mere incompatibility or want of affection. See Smith, 614 So.2d at 396. We find this assignment of error to be without merit.