ARIZONA FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT ORDERS SECTION 1782 DISCOVERY IN CONNECTION WITH CANADIAN ARBITRATION MANDATED BY CANADIAN LAW
September 25, 2024
In a recent case, in the Federal District Court of Arizona, the court granted an application for discovery in aid of arbitration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1782 (“Section 1782”). See In Re: Ex Parte Application Pursuant to Section 204 Of The Federal Arbitration Act and A.R.S. § 12-1507 For An Order To Provide Documents and/or Appear Remotely And Testify In A Foreign Arbitration Hearing, No. MC-24-00015-PHX-DLR (D. Ariz. May 9, 2024).
The Claimant in the arbitration, a Canadian citizen, was injured by a vehicle in Arizona. Under Canadian law the dispute was to be resolved by private arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act of British Columbia. The Petitioner, Insurance Company of British Columbia (“the Insurance Company”), sought to issue subpoenas for discovery of two entities that were not parties to the Canadian arbitration located in Arizona, Quick Silver Transportation and the Arizona Department of Transportation, pursuant to Section 1782, to appear as witnesses in the Canadian arbitration.
As the Court explained there are three threshold requirements that must be fulfilled in order to sustain a petition for discovery in aid of a foreign proceeding under Section 1782: “(1) the person from whom discovery is sought must ‘reside’ or be ‘found’ in the district; (2) the discovery must be for use in a proceeding in a foreign tribunal; and (3) the applicant must be an ‘interested person.'” Further, as the Court explained “only a governmental or intergovernmental adjudicative body constitutes a ‘foreign or international tribunal’ under § 1782. Such bodies are those that exercise the governmental authority conferred by one nation or multiple nations.”
The Court readily determined that Factors 1 and 3 applied and, more significantly, concluded that because the underlying arbitration was required by Canadian Law, the Canadian arbitration constituted a proceeding in a foreign tribunal and that Section 1782 therefore applied to the petition for discovery. The Court therefore granted the Insurance Company’s application to subpoena the Arizona Department of Transportation and Quick Silver Transportation, to provide discovery and to testify at a hearing in the Canadian arbitration.
For a complete copy of the decision, click here.
To read how CASTAYBERT PLLC can assist you with Arbitration and Section 1782 petitions in connection with a foreign proceeding, click here.
