Hassett v. Hassett

• Decision Date: 27 February 1997
• Docket Number: No. 94-CA-00385-SCT,94-CA-00385-SCT
• Parties: Leigh Ann HASSETT v. Thomas R. HASSETT.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 1140

690 So.2d 1140

Leigh Ann HASSETT v. Thomas R. HASSETT.

No. 94-CA-00385-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Feb. 27, 1997.

John Robert White, E. Michael Marks, Jackson, for Appellant.

Philip Mansour, Jr., Mansour & Mansour, Greenville, for Appellee.

Before DAN LEE, C.J., and BANKS and MILLS, JJ.

MILLS, Justice, for the Court:

Leigh Ann Hassett filed for a divorce from Thomas R. Hassett in the Chancery Court of Washington County, alleging as grounds for divorce habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. Thomas Hassett counterclaimed for divorce on the grounds of adultery. On August 25, 1993, the chancellor denied Leigh Ann Hassett a divorce and granted Thomas Hassett a divorce on the grounds alleged. In his judgment, the chancellor awarded to Thomas Hassett physical custody of the parties' minor child and ordered a division of marital property. Aggrieved by said judgment, Leigh Ann Hassett appeals to this Court, assigning as error the following issues.

I. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN DENYING LEIGH ANN HASSETT A DIVORCE ON THE GROUNDS OF HABITUAL CRUEL AND INHUMAN TREATMENT.

II. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN GRANTING THOMAS HASSETT A DIVORCE ON THE GROUNDS OF ADULTERY.

III. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN AWARDING TO THOMAS HASSETT PHYSICAL CUSTODY OF THE PARTIES' MINOR CHILD, KYLE HASSETT.

IV. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR ERRED IN HIS DIVISION OF MARITAL PROPERTY.

FACTS

Thomas and Leigh Ann Hassett were married on July 20, 1985. The couple lived in Hollandale, Mississippi and had a single child, Kyle, who was six years old at the time of trial. The parties separated on October 8, 1992. Five days later, on October 13, Leigh Ann filed her complaint for divorce on the grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. On December 23, 1992, Thomas filed his counterclaim for divorce on the grounds of adultery.

At trial, Leigh Ann testified regarding various items which she claimed constituted habitual cruel and inhuman treatment by Thomas, one of which was mental and emotional Leigh Ann testified that occasionally when he was angry, Thomas would hit the walls with his fists and throw objects such as bar stools, a bicycle, toys and a football helmet. Marvin Logan, Leigh Ann's father, testified that once when he was visiting at the parties' home, Thomas was criticizing a dish that Leigh Ann had prepared when "the first thing I knew they were down on the floor and he had her around the neck." Leigh Ann testified that on one occasion, Thomas raised his hand as if to strike her, but she admitted he never physically struck her during the seven years of their marriage.

                abuse.  She testified that Thomas was very domineering, possessive and controlling.  She claimed he was very critical of her cooking and cleaning, and that he often used harsh language including swear words.  Dot Lamb, Leigh Ann's mother, testified that once when she was visiting her daughter, "[h]e came in and he said, 'What have you done with my money?'   She didn't say anything, and he said, 'Nobody f's with my money you damn bitch.' "   This incident occurred when the parties were separated and just after Leigh Ann, without Thomas's consent, had withdrawn $25,000 from the couple's joint savings account
                

Leigh Ann also alleged sexual abuse as grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. She testified that on occasion Thomas would force himself upon her sexually, and that when she told him it was uncomfortable for her, he would not listen to her. She claimed Thomas forced her to have sex on two occasions. She testified these incidents caused her physical pain, for which she sought treatment from a doctor. The doctor suggested birth control pills, which Leigh Ann declined to take, and creams and ointments, which she used but which she testified did not completely solve the problem. Nonetheless, she continued to have frequent sex with Thomas because "Thomas felt that that's what he deserved and it didn't matter whether I was in pain, or it bothered me, or how I felt, or my feelings, he just--he would take it upon himself to take that from me without regard to how I was feeling. It didn't matter. He just did it."

Leigh Ann also alleged habitual cruel and inhuman treatment in the nature of illegal activities conducted by Thomas in the home. In her testimony she described a scheme whereby Thomas, who was a pharmacist, would receive free pharmaceutical samples from a doctor, store them in the home, remove the pills from the sample packaging, place the drugs in other containers and sell them to customers at his drugstore. Leigh Ann testified that Thomas would enlist the help of the couple's son, Kyle, when punching the pills out of the sample packaging.

Dr. Wesley Marner, claimed by Leigh Ann to have supplied Thomas with the samples, admitted he had given sample drugs to Thomas, but testified the drugs were for Thomas's father, mother, son and wife. Both Chris Wilson, a friend of Leigh Ann, and Dot Lamb, Leigh Ann's mother, testified they had seen a box full of sample pills stored in the Hassett's guest bedroom. Marvin Logan, Leigh Ann's father, testified he had received several telephone calls from Thomas during which Thomas expressed concern "that if the wrong people found out what he had done with these sample drugs that it could create a serious problem for him to the tune of losing his license or maybe even worse."

Regarding Thomas's allegation of adultery, he first became suspicious of his wife in May of 1992 when he found fifteen greeting cards in her tennis bag in her van. The cards were mailed to Leigh Ann at a post office box which she never told her husband she had, and they were signed by a man named Ricky. Although Leigh Ann testified she did not remember receiving the cards, Ricky Landers admitted sending them to her. The cards, admitted into evidence, included five birthday cards sent on the same day and a Valentine's Day card. The cards expressed terms of endearment and most of them were signed, "Love, Ricky." ¹ When Thomas confronted Thomas employed Billy Randall, a private detective, who testified that on the evening of November 15, 1992, he observed Leigh Ann Hassett and Ricky Landers enter room 253 of the Holiday Inn in Grenada, Mississippi. Mr. Randall and his wife observed the room all night long and saw no one enter or leave the room until 5:15 the following morning, when Ricky Landers came out of the room, got into his car and drove away. Mr. Randall later observed Leigh Ann leave the room around 9:30 a.m. carrying a shoulder tote bag. Mr. Randall took photographs of Leigh Ann's vehicle and of Leigh Ann leaving the hotel room that morning, which photographs were admitted into evidence.

Leigh Ann about the cards, she told him Ricky was just a friend she had met in Greenwood.

Mr. Randall testified that he and his wife again conducted surveillance of Leigh Ann Hassett on the evening of November 21, 1992. Mr. Randall observed Leigh Ann and Ricky leave room 253 of the Holiday Inn in Grenada around 9:35 p.m., get into Ricky's Blazer, drive to the Rag-Time Restaurant and enter the restaurant. Leigh Ann and Ricky left the restaurant around 11:15 p.m., drove back to the hotel and reentered room 253. No one entered or left the room again until 11:00 the following morning, when Leigh Ann and Ricky came out together. Ricky helped Leigh Ann put her clothes into her van, after which they got into their separate vehicles and left. Mr. Randall took photographs of Leigh Ann and Ricky as they left the room that morning, which photographs were admitted into evidence.

At trial, both Leigh Ann and Ricky denied ever having had sexual relations with each other. Leigh Ann testified she met Ricky in a bar sometime in the spring of 1992 while she was in Greenwood playing in a tennis tournament. She testified that she "ran into" Ricky on only one or two occasions after that. She could explain neither how Ricky came to have her post office box address nor how he knew when her birthday was. Leigh Ann testified she could not remember ever staying at the Holiday Inn in Grenada, and she specifically denied spending the night there in a room with Ricky Landers on November 15 and 21, 1992. Registration forms from the Grenada Holiday Inn showed four overnight stays there by Ricky Landers from October 27 to November 21, 1992, including the two dates on which Billy Randall conducted his surveillance of Leigh Ann. When asked why he stayed there four times in one month, Ricky testified he had "no idea."

During the marriage, Thomas worked at his drugstore six days a week from 7:00 a.m. to between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m. In 1991, Thomas took on a partner in the drugstore so that he could spend more time with his son. Leigh Ann occasionally helped out at the drug store, but otherwise she was unemployed. She spent most of her time fulfilling the domestic duties of housewife, such as cooking, cleaning and caring for Kyle. However, Thomas testified that beginning in January of 1992, he became primarily responsible for caring for Kyle. That year, Leigh Ann began to spend a good deal of time away from home, going on numerous trips of two days or more. When she was gone, Thomas was the sole care giver for Kyle. Beginning in July of that year, Thomas marked on a calendar the times Leigh Ann left town, which record showed that from July of 1992 to June of 1993, Leigh Ann was out of town approximately 135 days.

The parties continued to live in the same house in Hollandale after their separation in October of 1992. For some time prior to their separation, Thomas and Leigh Ann had been planning and building a new house in Arcola, Mississippi, which house was completed on June 1, 1993. At that time, Leigh Ann was away on one of her trips, and Thomas and Kyle moved into the new house. Leigh Ann testified that when she returned The testimony was uncontradicted that Kyle loved to do things with his father such as hunting, fishing and riding four wheelers. Thomas...