An arbitration column by authors Samuel Estreicher, Rex Heinke and Jessica Weisel delves into Servotronics v. Rolls-Royce PLC, a case scheduled to appear before the Supreme Court of the United States in the October Term. Servotronics “asks the court to resolve a circuit split over the role, if any, that federal courts should play in facilitating discovery in foreign arbitrations. In what looks like a simple matter of statutory interpretation—defining the term ‘tribunal’—the case may shed new light on how the current court approaches traditional interpretive tools.”

Excerpted from the column:

The question before the Supreme Court is whether §1782(a) extends to private, foreign arbitration or is limited to government proceedings. The Seventh Circuit, joining the Second and Fifth Circuits, held that a foreign arbitration is not a “tribunal” within the meaning of the statute. In conflicting opinions, the Sixth Circuit and the Fourth Circuit—in Servotronics v. Boeing Co., a case arising out of the same arbitration—interpreted “tribunal” to include foreign arbitration.

Read the full column here [subscription required].