Alixpartners, LLC v. Fund for Protection of Investor Rights in Foreign States

Questions presented

SCOTUS records, cert granted 10 Dec 2021

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a), district courts may authorize third-party discovery against U.S. persons where the evidence sought is for use in "a foreign or international tribunal." The lower courts are in acknowledged conflict regarding the meaning of the phrase "foreign or international tribunal" and, accordingly, whether Section 1782 reaches non--governmental arbitration proceedings occurring in a foreign country. This Court was set to resolve that conflict in Servotronics, Inc. v. Rolls-Royce PLC, No. 20- 794, but that case was dismissed upon the parties' Rule 46 motion shortly before oral argument had been scheduled to occur. This petition likewise presents the Section 1782 dispute, and in an even more critical context. Whereas the arbitration in Servotronics was between two private parties, the arbitration here is between a private party and a foreign state - an application of Section 1782 upon which the United States has expressed "particular concern." The question presented is: Whether an ad hoc arbitration to resolve a commercial dispute between two parties is a "foreign or international tribunal" under 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a) where the arbitral panel does not exercise any governmental or quasi-governmental authority.

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involved a dispute over whether the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards allows for discovery under Section 1782(a) of Title 28 in aid of foreign or international arbitration proceedings. The Supreme Court held that only governmental or intergovernmental adjudicative bodies qualify as 'foreign tribunals' under this statute, excluding private arbitral panels from its scope. This decision resolved a split among circuit courts regarding whether parties engaged in private commercial arbitrations abroad could seek assistance from U.S. federal courts to obtain evidence located within the United States.