Enforcement Of Arbitration Subpoenas And Summonses

Sometimes it is necessary to obtain evidence from non-parties during a reinsurance arbitration. Yet, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not expressly sanction non-party (or for that matter any) pre-hearing discovery. In practice, however, most parties ask the arbitration panel to issue a subpoena to a “hearing” and then negotiate with the non-party about producing documents without the need to appear at a hearing with a witness. Most non-parties just want the subpoena for their records (to protect against criticism from others about volunteering information) and will eventually agree to produce a negotiated set of documents. Moreover, nothing in the FAA bars a party from negotiating a common-sense resolution to a subpoena request.