Rolls-Royce Seeks To Resolve Circuit Split On Whether District Courts Can Order Discovery For Use In Private Arbitration

As discussed in our previous blog, many foreign companies favor private international arbitration for dispute resolution purposes in order to avoid being haled into a U.S. court and to avoid U.S.-style discovery.  That calculus may change if the Supreme Court decides to consider whether a district court has authority to order discovery under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 for use in private commercial arbitration, which would resolve the current split amongst Circuit Courts.

On March 30, 2020, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Servotronics, Inc. v. Boeing Co., 954 F.3d 209, 210 (4th Cir. 2020), joined the Sixth Circuit in allowing the use of § 1782 in the context of private arbitration.  The British Company Rolls-Royce subsequently indicated that it will file a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, asking the High Court to reverse the Fourth Circuit.  Rolls-Royce has until June 28, 2020 to file a writ petition.