Das v. Das
Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
754 A.2d 441 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2000)
After obtaining a domestic-violence protective order against her husband Vincent (defendant), Anuradha Das (plaintiff) petitioned for divorce based on cruelty and excessively vicious conduct, testifying to a history of hitting, pinching, hair-pulling, and threats, along with resulting physical health problems including cardiac arrhythmia; the trial court granted her petition, and Vincent appealed, arguing her testimony lacked sufficient specific detail to justify a fault-based divorce.
Whether, where domestic violence has been inflicted and threats have been made, courts should hesitate to grant a fault-based divorce based on cruelty and excessively vicious conduct, particularly where the facts indicate a probability that the violence might be repeated.