Increasingly, parties are looking to arbitration for the resolution of their disputes. In resorting to arbitration, they often assume that they will benefit from certain of its positive aspects such as efficiency, confidentiality, cost and finality while having at their disposal all of the customary litigation tools necessary to prove their case.
Once the process has been initiated, however, they are often confounded by the realization that the extensive discovery process with which they are familiar may not be available to them, particularly when they seek discovery from non-parties to the arbitration agreement. They quickly learn that depending on the statutory process governing the arbitration and the jurisdiction in which the arbitration is to be conducted, results vary when judicial enforcement is sought of pre-hearing discovery subpoenas issued to such non-parties.
