MAE ROBERTS, PETITIONER,
v.
PATRICIA JARDINE, RESPONDENT

Fla. 2d DCA | 1978-05-10
No. 78-474
BOARDMAN, C. J., and HOBSON, J., concur.
358 So. 2d 588 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1978) Caution
Cited by 22 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Mae Roberts challenged trial court orders compelling discovery in a civil wiretapping case, arguing they violated her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The appellate court reversed the order compelling her to answer interrogatories but affirmed the order requiring production of a tape recording she had voluntarily disclosed at a deposition.


Holding

The court erred in compelling Roberts to answer interrogatories under threat of default judgment because the answers could incriminate her in violation of her Fifth Amendment privilege. However, the court correctly compelled production of the tape recording because Roberts waived any privilege by voluntarily disclosing its contents at a deposition. Less severe sanctions than default judgment, such as striking testimony, may be imposed for failure to answer interrogatories.


Headnotes

[1] A party may assert the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in response to discovery requests when the answers could incriminate them under criminal statu…

[2] A court cannot compel a party to answer interrogatories under threat of default judgment when the answers may incriminate the party.

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Key Quotes

“the court cannot compel petitioner to answer respondent's interrogatories as the answers relating to her alleged interception of the telephone conversation might incriminate her.”

Establishes that the Fifth Amendment privilege applies to discovery requests that could expose criminal liability.

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Facts & Procedural History

Patricia Jardine sued Mae Roberts for allegedly intercepting a telephone conversation without consent in violation of Florida law. Roberts's attorney …

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Opinion of the Court
RYDER, Judge.

RYDER, Judge.

Petitioner seeks review of two orders of the trial court which compel discovery, arguing the orders are in violation of her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

We agree with her in part and grant certiorari, reversing one order and affirming the other. At the bottom of this controversy is respondent’s claim that petitioner had made a tape recording of a certain telephone conversation between the parties without respondent’s knowledge. Mr. William J. Terry, petitioner’s attorney in a previous action, played this recording during a deposition of respondent in said action in which petitioner was the plaintiff and the respondent was a witness. Upon learning of the existence of the tape, respondent filed a civil action for damages alleging that petitioner had intercepted their telephone conversation by means of an electronic or mechanical device in violation of Section 934.-10, Florida Statutes (1977).

Thereafter, respondent served interrogatories on petitioner inquiring into the circumstances surrounding the alleged interception ' of the telephone call. Petitioner refused to answer these interrogatories on the ground that any answer she gave might incriminate her. Respondent also served petitioner with a request for documents and other related things in which she specifically asked for a copy of the tape recording referred to above as well as any other recordings of conversations between respondent, petitioner and/or William J. Terry. Petitioner also did not comply with this request.

Subsequently, on motion of respondent, the trial court entered two orders compelling discovery. In the first order the court required petitioner to answer interrogatories and stated that if she failed to answer the court might enter a default judgment. In the second order the court directed peti-. tioner to comply with the request for discovery or suffer a default judgment.

We think that the trial court erred in entering its order compelling petitioner to answer interrogatories on pain of the entry of a default judgment. As petitioner correctly points out, the interception of telephone conversations by electronic or mechanical means carries a criminal as well as a civil penalty.

Section 934.03, Florida Statutes (1977).

Accordingly, the court cannot compel petitioner to answer respondent’s interrogatories as the answers relating to her alleged interception of the telephone conversation might incriminate her. U.S.Const. Amend. V; Article I, Section 9, Florida Constitution.

Moreover, the court cannot punish her for exercising her privilege against self-incrimination by entering a default judgment. Of course, for failure to answer, the court may impose less severe sanctions such as striking her testimony. Annest v. Annest, 49 Wash.2d 62, 298 P. 2d 483 (1956). See generally Stockham v. Stockham, 159 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963), aff’d, 168 So. 2d 320 (Fla.1964); Penn Communications Specialties, Inc. v. Hess, 65 F.R.D. 510 (E.D.Pa.1975).

We do not, however, find any error in the court’s second order as it relates to the production of the alleged tape recording of the conversation between petitioner and respondent. Petitioner has waived any privilege she might have with regard to the contents of that tape because she published those contents by permitting the playing of the tape during the deposition of respondent. See Raffield v. State, 333 So. 2d 534 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976).

The correctness of the court’s second order as it concerns other recordings which might be in petitioner’s possession is not considered here. Petitioner has not represented to us that any such recordings exist, thus, we see no need to proceed further. REVERSED in part, AFFIRMED in part and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BOARDMAN, C. J., and HOBSON, J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (11 total)

  • DeLISI v. Bankers Ins. Co., 436 So. 2d 1099 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
    …o determine whether any sanctions are justified. On remand, the court should reexamine the issue, utilizing the test set forth herein. If the court determines that some sanctions are warranted, it may consider those authorized in Roberts v. Jardine, 358 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). Accordingly, we issue the writ, quash the order on sanctions and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. DOWNEY and WALDEN, JJ., concur. . Sections 943.46-943.465, Fla.Stat. (1979); subsequently revised and…
  • City OF ST. Petersburg v. Houghton, 362 So. 2d 681 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)
    …plaintiff and is not involuntarily involved in litigation but, rather, initiated the suit himself. Recently, this court has dealt with a defendant’s right to invoke the privilege against self-incrimination in a civil action. See Roberts v. Jardine, 358 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). However, here we are confronted with the question of the plaintiff’s right to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege in a civil action. Our attention, thus, is immediately drawn to a series of Florida cases beginning with Stockham…
  • Mohumman Iqbal Zabrani v. Riveron, 495 So. 2d 1195 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
    …ex-husband, by remaining silent, could not satisfy his burden of proving that he was not in willful contempt of the support order. There was no fifth amendment violation, and the contempt judgment and sentence were affirmed. Cf. Roberts v. Jardine, 358 So. 2d 588 (Fla.2d DCA 1978) (defendant could not be compelled upon pain of default to answer interrogatories which would incriminate her, though her testimony could be stricken). Like Mr. Waskin, Zabrani was welcome to remain silent, but, once he did, he cou…

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