Does the Fifth Amendment privilege apply to a plaintiff in a civil case?

Whereas the Fifth Amendment privilege may be invoked by a civil litigant (Segretti v. State Bar (1976) 15 Cal.3d 878, 886, 126 Cal.Rptr. 793, 544 P.2d 929), it does not provide for protection against civil penalties. "[W]hile the privilege of a criminal defendant is absolute, in a civil case a witness or party may be required either to waive the privilege or accept the civil consequences of silence if he or she does exercise it." (Alvarez v. Sanchez, supra, 158 Cal.App.3d at p. 712, 204 Cal.Rptr. 864.)

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Has Petitioner been asked to incriminate himself?