Repeated physical violence is cruel treatment under OCGA 19-5-3(10). A single incident usually is not, unless it was serious enough to make you fear another one.
The Repetition Rule
In Hilburn v. Hilburn, 210 Ga. 497 (1954), the Georgia Supreme Court applied the rule of Phinizy v. Phinizy, 154 Ga. 199 (1922), that “a single act of personal violence is not considered cruel treatment, but two or more such acts alone may furnish ground for divorce.” A husband who could point to one incident across seven years of marriage, with no other act of violence testified to by anyone, did not clear that bar.
So the question is rarely whether one push or one slap ends a marriage in court. It is whether there is a pattern, or whether the one act was severe enough that you reasonably apprehend danger to your life, limb, or health.
What Has Been Enough
In Moody v. Moody, 224 Ga. 13 (1968), the wife testified that her husband mistreated her physically several times, that on one occasion he hit her on the jaw and loosened a tooth that required dental care and left her unable to eat for days, and that his conduct seriously affected her health. The divorce was upheld.
Violence Combined With Mental Cruelty
The two kinds of cruelty are often pleaded together. In Anglin v. Anglin, 209 Ga. 823 (1953), a wife alleged that her husband had nagged at her constantly for months and that, about two weeks before she left, he “without any cause whatsoever, choked and struck petitioner with a large boiler and abused her most severely.” That petition survived a general demurrer.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!