Discovery

Issue to Watch: Section 1782 and the Unified Patent Court

Section 1782 is big business, with large numbers of petitions filed in federal courts every year. 28 U.S.C. § 1782 is a federal statute authorizing federal courts order discovery for use in a foreign or international tribunal (but not an international arbitral tribunal). The Supreme Court elaborated various aspects of Section 1782 in its 2004 decision Intel Corp. v….

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Israeli Data Protection Law No Bar to U.S. Discovery 

A U.S.-based mobile gaming platform called Skillz sued its Israeli-based competitor, Papaya Gaming Ltd., for false advertising and deceptive practices. Skillz claimed that Papaya used “bots,” despite advertising to customers that they would be competing against real humans. Papaya counterclaimed, making nearly identical allegations against Skillz for allegedly misrepresenting that Skillz players compete against people,…

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D.C. Circuit Remands Helms-Burton Case Against Cimex

Exxon (then Standard Oil) owned several subsidiaries in Cuba that were expropriated without compensation by the Cuban government in 1960. In 1996, Congress enacted the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (CLDS), which permits suits by U.S. plaintiffs against those who traffic in property confiscated by the Cuban government. Exxon has sued Cuban state-owned companies…

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Applying China’s Personal Information Protection Law to U.S. Discovery Requests

On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which became effective from November 1, 2021. Chapter 1 of the PIPL contains general rules, Chapter 2 outlines rules for handling personal information, and Chapter 3 addresses cross-border transfer of personal information. Chapters 4, 5, and…

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MCLE Program on Section 1782

On Thursday, July 25, at 4:00 pm Pacific Time, the Bar Association of San Francisco will present a virtual program on “Navigating Discovery Relating to Foreign Proceedings: A Deep Dive into 28 U.S.C. § 1782.” I will participate, along with David Wallach (King & Spalding) and Kendra Marvel (Jones Day). A flyer for the program…

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Zooming Out of Forum Non Conveniens

A recently published note in the Columbia Law Review, written by Christabel Narh, draws a connection between the federal courts’ technological learning curve during the pandemic and the future of forum non conveniens. Zooming Our Way Out of the Forum Non Conveniens Doctrine argues that the federal courts’ trial-by-fire with videoconferencing and remote litigation during…

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New Article on Cross-Border Discovery

In the most recent issue of Judicature, Judge Michael Baylson and Professor Steven Gensler have a new article related to cross-border discovery—that is, discovery abroad in support of adjudication in U.S. courts. The whole article is worth readers’ time, though I will only briefly summarize it here. As TLB readers know well, cross-border discovery is…

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Execution of Judgments Against the Assets of Foreign Sovereigns Located Abroad

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provides immunity from execution for the “property in the United States of a foreign state.” It does not confer immunity on a foreign state’s property located abroad. The limitation makes sense: to the extent that a foreign sovereign’s property located outside the United States is not subject to the…

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Venequip 1782 Case

Section 1782, which authorizes judicial assistance to foreign and international tribunals, is a staple of transnational litigation. In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit reviewed a lower court decision to deny a 1782 application. This case is in many ways a “typical” 1782 case, although its discussion of choice-of-forum clauses is of note. Background Very…

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A Primer on Foreign State Compulsion

Foreign state compulsion (also called foreign sovereign compulsion) is a doctrine allowing a U.S. court to excuse violations of U.S. law or moderate the sanctions imposed for such violations on the ground that they are compelled by foreign law. The doctrine arises most often when foreign law blocks compliance with U.S. discovery requests and in…

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Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk

Vanderbilt Law School
ingrid.wuerth@vanderbilt.eduEmail

William Dodge

George Washington University Law School
william.dodge@law.gwu.eduEmail

Maggie Gardner

Cornell Law School
mgardner@cornell.eduEmail

John F. Coyle

University of North Carolina School of Law
jfcoyle@email.unc.eduEmail

Zachary D. Clopton

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
zclopton@law.northwestern.eduEmail

Noah Buyon

Duke University School of Law
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Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom

University of Cambridge
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Ben Köhler

Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law
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Melissa Stewart

University of Hawai'i, William S. Richardson School of Law.
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Ian M. Kysel

Cornell Law School
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Craig D. Gaver

Bluestone Law
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Gregg Cashmark

Vanderbilt Law School
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Rochelle C. Dreyfuss

NYU School of Law
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Linda J. Silberman

New York University School of Law
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Timothy R. Holbrook

Emory University School of Law
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