Clay Jeffrey Moss v. Vicky Rogers Moss

Facts

H and W married on February 14, 1987, and separated on or about July 7, 2018. They had two children. W filed for divorce on the statutory ground of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 93-5-1 (Rev. 2018). W stated that H habitually belittled and humiliated her throughout their thirty-year relationship. H controlled what she wore, called her a 'tramp' or 'slut' when he deemed her clothing immodest, and inspected her clothing daily. Multiple times, H told W 'You've dressed like a tramp our whole married life.' H would tell her to bend over to test if he could see her bra or cleavage before she went to work, and he often told her to change clothes. When he disapproved of her clothing, he stated, '[N]o self-respecting Christian would ever wear that.' At one point, W gave H a picture of herself in her nurse's uniform, and Clay called the photograph 'appalling and insulting.' H shamed her for losing her virginity in high school and repeatedly accused her of adultery. In a 2017 note he wrote to W threatening suicide, H questioned the paternity of their eldest daughter. H habitually criticized W's completion of basic household tasks, including how she did the laundry, scooped the kitty litter, and changed their daughters' diapers. H regularly called her 'small-minded' and 'idiotic' and told her that she was not a good role model for her children. H forced her to quit a women's softball league and isolated her from her friends. H and W worked as Christian missionaries in Africa from 1990 to 1991, in Malaysia from 2003 to 2011, and in Indonesia for six months in 2008. In 2011, W and other mission staff grew concerned with the intensity of H's relationship with a fifteen-year-old girl at the school. H constantly communicated with the child and ignored W's requests for Clay to 'leave her alone.' During this period, H 'wanted different sexual favors' from W, began looking at pornography, and asked her to shave her pubic hair for the first time in their relationship. The mission placed H on immediate leave due to complaints of an 'inappropriate relationship/infatuation with a teenage girl.' Eventually, H and W were forced to move back to the United States, and their children were uprooted from their school mid-year. By email, H told W that he would not agree to a divorce unless she denounced her Christianity or 'admitted [she] was never a true Christian.' He told her that 'no authentic Christian gets a divorce' and called W 'a presumptuous sinner.' H continued sending these emails after W repeatedly asked him to stop. In his emails, H admitted that he had 'crushed W's spirit' and that his conduct constituted 'tough love.' Between 2017 and 2018, H left W three notes threatening suicide, including one entitled 'Finishing the Job.' In the May 2017 suicide note, he asked W to 'help him decide how he was going to go about committing suicide.' In another note, H wrote to W, 'Let [our children] know just before I pull the trigger, I will pray for your radical transformation to Christ.' He suggested W should not remarry after his death and stated 'I know from experience that you're not the wifely type.' In his notes, he also told W to make phone calls relating news of his suicide, told her to cancel his appointments, and asked her to explain the suicide to their children, saying he was putting 'the ball in [W's] court.' After W read one suicide note, H returned home later that day, stated 'I guess God doesn't want me to die today,' and said he was going to get ready for church. In July 2018, after a suicide threat, H checked himself into St. Dominic Hospital and was released after one day. W's doctor prescribed her medication for depression, but she stopped due to side effects. W testified that H's conduct made her anxious, made her cry uncontrollably, and resulted in her feeling worthless. She also testified that her symptoms of stress led to picking at her eyelashes, as well as loss of sleep, chest pain, and headaches. The chancellor granted W a divorce on the grounds of habitual cruel and inhuman treatment. On appeal, H argues that W failed to produce sufficient evidence to satisfy the standard.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

© 2007-2024 ABN Study Partner.