Opinion
No. 99-317
Opinion filed June 17, 1999.
Petition Common Law Certiorari — Original Jurisdiction.
C. Thomas Holland, Crestview, for Petitioner.
Sharon C. Greenberg and Diane H. Tutt of Diane H. Tutt, P.A., Plantation, for Respondents.
The lower tribunal departed from the essential requirements of law in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing before ordering blood testing in this paternity dispute, as required byDepartment of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Privette, 617 So.2d 305 (Fla. 1993). Petitioner's motion for continuance should have been granted to facilitate the procedure set forth in Privette, which also calls for the assistance of an appointed guardian ad litem in this case. Accordingly, the petition for certiorari is GRANTED and the Circuit Court's orders styled "Order" and "Order Compelling Genetic Testing" both dated January 6, 1999, and rendered January 13, 1999, are quashed.
JOANOS, PADOVANO and BROWNING, JJ., CONCUR.