Does an Arbitrator Have Authority to Compel Production of Third-Party Documents?
Construction disputes often involve voluminous amounts of discovery, including documents in the hand of third parties, points out Matthew DeVries in Burr & Forman’s Best Practices Construction Law blog.
If the case is subject to arbitration, it is likely there will be a dispute about whether the arbitrator has the authority to compel production of third-party documents or witnesses for deposition, he writes.
DeVries discusses a case in which the 11th Circuit concluded that Section 7 of the Federal Arbitration Act precludes all pre-hearing discovery from non-parties.