Ever since the Supreme Court in Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241 (2004) sanctioned a liberal interpretation of 28 U.S.C. §1782 (“Section 1782”)—the statute permitting U.S. discovery in aid of foreign litigations—domestic litigants, anxious to mitigate the impact of this law, have been keeping the federal courts very busy. A Westlaw search reveals that since Intel the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit alone has heard about 30 appeals on constructions and applications of the statute, while the districts within the circuit have collectively issued well over 150 decisions on the matter.

Until recently, circuit courts in the country have spoken largely with one voice in defining the contours of the statute. But one issue has recently become a stumbling block to consensus: private international commercial arbitrations.