Rakes v. Rakes, March 12, 2019. Unpublished
A court in Salem granted a divorce on grounds of "constructive desertion," which requires the same elements as "cruelty." The divorce apparently started when Mrs. R. found three photos of her husband of 24 years in three different women's outfits. Two were taken in public places, and in the other, there was a man's hand on his thigh. "She felt shocked, hurt and betrayed [and] concerned that he may have contracted a sexually transmitted disease through his extra-marital engagements."
On appeal, Mr. R. argued "that there was no evidence of cruelty, that his misconduct did not rise to a level that made the marital relationship intolerable or unendurable and that one instance of misconduct cannot form the basis of constructive desertion." But at the trial, the Court says, he only made that last argument, not the first two [which are pretty self-evident], so he does not get to make it on appeal. (The appeals court could still allow those two arguments if it wanted to, but maybe it's reserving that discretion for cases where it would prevent major injustices. Let's hope.] And the "single instance" argument is misplaced because of the three photos in three outfits in different settings.