DePalma v. DePalma

This cause was filed as a petition for writ of certiorari which we treat as a non-final appeal under rules 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iii) and 9.040(c), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.

The issue on appeal is whether a husband in a dissolution action can be prohibited from participation in a custody hearing, as a sanction, where he has asserted a fifth amendment privilege in the dissolution action.

Briefly, the facts of this case are as follows: At a hearing on temporary custody, the wife’s attorney filed a motion seeking to prohibit the husband from offering evidence and to enter a default against…