Title 28 of the United States Code § 1782 (“§ 1782”) has always been a powerful tool in the pursuit of evidence located in the United States for use in foreign proceedings, and it has been well understood for some time that § 1782 can be used in support of proceedings before foreign courts.

Of great interest to parties involved in international disputes, the scope of § 1782 was further considered in judgments handed down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit”) on 7 October 2019 and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (the “Sixth Circuit”) on 19 September 2019. The first considered territorial issues surrounding § 1782 discovery, and the second considered whether federal courts in the United States may order parties to produce documents and testimony in support of private commercial arbitrations overseas pursuant to § 1782.