NC · jury_instructions
N.C.P.I.—Civil 815.58
DIVORCE - FROM BED AND BOARD - ISSUE OF EXCESSIVE USE OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS.
The (state number) issue reads:
"Did the defendant become an excessive user of [alcohol] [drugs]
so as to render the plaintiff's condition intolerable and life burdensome?"
On this issue the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. This means
that the plaintiff must prove, by the greater weight of the evidence, two
things:
First, that the defendant became an excessive user2 of [alcohol]
[drugs].
Second, that the defendant's excessive use of [alcohol] [drugs]
rendered the plaintiff's condition intolerable and life burdensome.
Whether the excessive use of [alcohol] [drugs] by one spouse renders the
other spouse's condition intolerable and life burdensome depends upon
the facts and circumstances in each case.
Factors you may consider include, among other things, the status of
the parties and their sensibilities, social position, refinement,
intelligence, temperament, state of health, habits and feelings, as well
as the character and nature of the acts alleged.3
Finally, as to this (state number) issue on which the plaintiff has
the burden of proof, if you find by the greater weight of the evidence that
the defendant became an excessive user of [alcohol] [drugs] so as to
render the plaintiff's condition intolerable and life burdensome, then it
would be your duty to answer this issue "Yes" in favor of the plaintiff.
If, on the other hand, you fail to so find, it would be your duty to
answer this issue "No" in favor of the defendant.
History
N.C.P.I.—Civil 815.58 (January 1999). Prepared by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges' Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, assisted by the UNC School of Government; published by the School of Government.
Provenance
- Source
- sog.unc.edu
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
834905bf5eb6d176e5eb49f7e2d713753d73e1c158c61bb145f40a9eefd0a177
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