Cupid wasn’t the only one slinging arrows on Valentine’s Day. Justice Barbara Pariente authored the decision in Delmonico v. Traynor, which cut through the heart of the absolute immunity afforded to lawyers during litigation.
Justice Pariente described the issue as "whether Florida’s absolute privilege, which shields judges, counsel, parties, and witnesses from liability for alleged defamatory statements made in the course of a judicial proceeding, extends to statements made by an attorney during ex-parte, out-of-court questioning of a potential, nonparty witness while investigating matters connected to a pending lawsuit."
