Hurdles and Consequences to Asserting the Fifth Amendment in Civil Litigation

June 20, 2017  |  New York Law Journal

Although a party or witness in civil litigation may invoke the Fifth Amendment, such invocation often comes at a high price, because the finder of fact may draw an adverse inference against the party or witness who declines to provide evidence based on the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In this article, we discuss a number of recent decisions from the Southern District of New York addressing when and how the Fifth Amendment can be invoked in civil litigation, and the ramifications to litigants when parties and non-party witnesses avail themselves of that privilege.

Hurdles and Consequences to Asserting the Fifth Amendment in Civil Litigation (pdf | 232.43 KB)