Notable ruling from the Court of Cassation in a divorce case: Husband who belittled his wife's cooking found heavily at fault

The 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation has upheld a ruling finding a husband heavily at fault in a divorce case involving mutual allegations of insults, noting that he constantly belittled the meals his wife prepared, insulted her, and failed to adequately provide for the household's kitchen needs.

The couple, experiencing severe incompatibility, filed for divorce against each other in the Family Court. The plaintiff husband claimed that his wife had used words such as "old man," "senile," "filth," and "get out" toward him, and that she did not provide him with food and locked the refrigerator. The husband also requested that custody of their joint child be granted to him and demanded compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.

The wife, for her part, stated that her husband belittled her and her children from a previous marriage. Arguing that he constantly criticized the meals she prepared, the wife said the husband used expressions such as "Your food is terrible," "Your food is poisonous," "You are ignorant," "What do you know," "Thief," and "Shameless."

The Family Court accepted that the parties had insulted each other. However, the court ruled that the husband was more heavily at fault than the wife, citing not only his verbal belittling of his spouse but also his failure to adequately provide for the household's kitchen shopping and his behavior that demeaned his wife's efforts.

The court ruled for the divorce of the parties, granted custody of the joint child to the father, and ordered monthly alimony to be paid to the wife. Additionally, it was decided that the husband must pay the wife 20,000 TL in pecuniary damages and 15,000 TL in non-pecuniary damages.

After the husband appealed the decision to the regional court and subsequently to the Court of Cassation, the file came before the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation. The Chamber found the assessments of the local court and the Regional Court of Justice to be in accordance with the law and upheld the decision.

The ruling emphasized that derogatory expressions directed at a spouse within the marital union and the failure to fulfill basic responsibilities within the family can be taken into account in the assessment of fault. Thus, it was established that words and behaviors that belittle a spouse's efforts are an important factor in determining fault in divorce cases.