Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Many parties to a Florida family law case ask “Do I HAVE to give the other side my private information”? As part of the case, parties can ask for discovery. Discovery is a process in which each side can request of each other documents or information relevant to the case. For example, in a case to establish child support, each side may be asked to produce paystubs and bank statements to prove income. There are limits to discovery, however, and a party can object to providing certain documents, in which case the judge decides if the objection is valid. This was an issue in the case Sahmoud v. Marwan, 3D20-1311 (Fla. 3d DCA March 9, 2022).
In this case, the former wife sought to enforce a final judgment of divorce and alleged the former husband was not abiding by terms to pay alimony and child support, among other issues. The former husband sought discovery from the former wife, including a copy of her passport and documents relating to her application for political asylum in the United States. The trial court overruled her objection to producing these documents (but ordered that they be kept confidential within the proceeding), and the former wife filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the appellate court, arguing the requested discovery was irrelevant, and designed to harass her.
The appellate court disagreed, holding “Absent more, the production of possibly irrelevant information fails to satisfy the requirements for certiorari relief. [The former wife] sought the same passport and travel information from [the former husband], and the trial court merely allowed reciprocal discovery. Additionally, the trial court crafted a confidentiality requirement to address [the former wife’s] fear of improper disclosure. It is unclear how the trial court’s confidentiality condition failed to protect [the former wife]. It is equally unclear how the information could be weaponized and used against [the former wife], even absent the confidentiality order, as it would likely be information reviewed by the immigration authorities. It is axiomatic that discovery cannot be used solely to harass. [internal citations omitted] However, other than conclusory allegations, it is unclear how the dissemination of the confidential information, which presumably the U.S. immigration authorities would already have access to, would constitute harassment though the specter of dissemination of harmful, ‘cat-out-of-the-bag’ discovery for which certiorari relief lies.”
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