## Facts

- Stacy Carambat (wife) and James Carambat (husband) married in March 1993.
- They had twin boys in January 1999.
- The parties separated in August 2008, and Stacy filed for divorce in September 2008 in the Hancock County Chancery Court.
- Stacy alleged James’s habitual and excessive drug use as her divorce ground and sought custody of the twins and an equitable division of property.
- James denied that Stacy proved grounds for divorce and denied that Stacy should be awarded custody.
- At trial, both parties testified about James’s marijuana use.
- Stacy admitted she knew before the marriage that James regularly smoked marijuana.
- James admitted he had been smoking marijuana since he was fourteen and continued using it during the marriage, including after the children were born.
- Evidence at trial described continuing marijuana use that caused conflict in the home; Stacy testified she feared James’s regular possession and use of marijuana would lead to legal trouble and affect the family.
- James testified that Stacy was involved in an extramarital affair, but he did not request a divorce on the ground of adultery in his pleadings.
- James attempted to raise condonation (based on Stacy’s premarital knowledge of his marijuana use and her remaining in the marriage), and Stacy objected that condonation had not been pleaded as an affirmative defense.
- The chancellor found the proof showed James’s habitual and excessive marijuana use, granted Stacy a divorce on that ground, and awarded Stacy custody of the twins.
- James appealed to the Supreme Court of Mississippi.

## Issues

1. Whether marijuana can qualify as an “other like drug” under Mississippi Code section 93-5-1, and whether the proof supported a finding of habitual and excessive drug use sufficient to grant Stacy a fault-based divorce.
2. Whether the chancellor erred by refusing to treat condonation as a defense when James did not plead it as an affirmative defense, and by refusing to grant a divorce based on Stacy’s alleged adultery when adultery was not pleaded as a divorce ground.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the chancery court’s judgment.
- The court held that marijuana is an “other like drug” within Mississippi Code section 93-5-1 for purposes of the habitual-and-excessive-drug-use divorce ground.
- The court held substantial evidence supported the chancellor’s finding that James’s marijuana use was habitual and excessive and detrimental to the marriage, so granting Stacy a divorce on that ground was not manifest error.
- The court held condonation is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded; the chancellor did not err in declining to accept an unpleaded condonation defense.
- The court held the chancellor did not err in refusing to grant a divorce based on Stacy’s alleged adultery because James did not seek a divorce on that ground in his pleadings.

## Legal Principles

- Appellate review of a chancellor’s findings in a divorce case is deferential; findings supported by substantial evidence will not be reversed unless manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous, or based on an incorrect legal standard.
- Mississippi Code section 93-5-1 permits divorce for “habitual and excessive use of opium, morphine or other like drug,” and marijuana may be treated as an “other like drug” under that statute.
- “Habitual” drug use means a regular, fixed, and customary pattern of use rather than isolated instances.
- “Excessive” drug use is use that, by its frequency or degree, harms the marriage or family life; proof may include resulting conflict, instability, or fear of legal consequences tied to continuing illegal drug possession and use.
- Condonation is an affirmative defense in Mississippi divorce practice and generally must be specifically pleaded, or it is waived.
- A divorce on a particular fault ground generally requires that ground to be pleaded; a court is not required to award relief on an unpleaded ground (such as adultery) even if evidence about the conduct is introduced at trial.

## Conclusion

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed a chancery court decree granting Stacy Carambat a divorce based on James Carambat’s habitual and excessive marijuana use, holding that marijuana can qualify as an “other like drug” under Mississippi Code section 93-5-1 and that the record supported the chancellor’s factual findings. The court also enforced pleading requirements by rejecting James’s unpleaded condonation defense and declining to grant a divorce based on Stacy’s alleged adultery because adultery was not pleaded as a divorce ground.


Carambat v. Carambat, 72 So. 3D 505 (2011)