On October 26, 1984, this Court took under advisement Complainant’s motion for the entry of an order of sanction striking any and all affirmative defenses or Cross-Bills of the Defendant/Cross-Complainant for his failure to answer proper questions regarding his adulterous conduct.
The general rule is that a party, here the Cross-Complainant, in a civil case, may invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege. However a Motion to Dismiss the Cross-Complaint will lie where the Cross-Complainant invokes the privilege against self-incrimination in order to refuse to answer questions pertinent to the issue. There have been no cases reported from the Supreme Court of Virginia on this issue; however this Court has looked to decisions from other states more notably, Stockham v. Stockham, 168 So.2d 320 (1964); City of Petersburg v. Houghton, 362 So.2d 681 (1978). This is a Court of equity and, accordingly, if the Cross-Complainant continues to refuse to answer said questions he will be barred from seeking any affirmative relief.