Mick-Skaggs v. Skaggs
Court of Appeals of South Carolina
766 S.E.2d 870 (S.C. Ct. App. 2014)
Coleen Mick-Skaggs (plaintiff) and William Skaggs (defendant) separated, and Coleen sought divorce based on William's adultery; William counterclaimed for divorce based on Coleen's adultery and also sought a no-fault divorce based on one year of continuous separation. Each side presented corroborated eyewitness testimony of the other's affair, including a private investigator's observations of William with another woman on multiple occasions. The family court denied both adultery claims but granted William's no-fault divorce, and Coleen appealed.
Whether, to obtain a divorce based on adultery, a spouse must demonstrate the other spouse's inclination and opportunity to commit adultery by a clear preponderance of evidence sufficiently definite to identify the time, place, and circumstances of the adultery.