Opinion
October 26, 1984
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Pantano, J.).
Judgment affirmed, insofar as appealed from, with costs.
To obtain a divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment, the plaintiff has the burden of establishing a pattern of actual physical violence, or, if actual violence is not involved, conduct which seriously affects the health of the spouse and threatens to impair it, rendering it unsafe to cohabit. ( Johnson v Johnson, 103 A.D.2d 820; Rios v Rios, 34 A.D.2d 325, aff'd 29 N.Y.2d 840.) Plaintiff husband failed to meet the burden of proving a pattern of actual physical violence or conduct such as to seriously affect his health. Therefore, the trial court properly dismissed plaintiff's complaint for divorce. We further find Special Term's awards of maintenance, custody and counsel fees constituted a proper exercise of its discretion (see Matter of Richards v Richards, 78 A.D.2d 943; Smith v Smith, 61 A.D.2d 1133). Titone, J.P., Bracken, Boyers and Lawrence, JJ., concur.