From Russia with Love: 11th Circuit Affirms the Utility of 28 U.S.C. §1782 in International Discovery

In short, a legal firm is being accused of overcharging their clients, and a lawyer is being investigated for wrongdoing. It’s a big deal because it could mean that the clients were unfairly charged too much money. If you’re an international litigator, you have a powerful tool at your disposal called 28 U.S.C. §1782. This statute allows you to get evidence from people or companies in the U.S. for use in foreign courts. A recent case called Sergeeva v. Trident International Ltd. made it clear that you can even get documents from outside the U.S. if they’re in the possession of someone in the U.S. In the case, Anna Sergeeva wanted documents from a company in Atlanta to use in her divorce case in Russia. The court said she could get those documents, and the company could be punished if they didn’t cooperate. Trident Atlanta got a subpoena to hand over documents, but they didn’t want to because some of the documents were outside the U.S. They only gave a few pages of documents, and the court told them to give more or pay a fine. They tried to get out of it, but the court said no. They appealed, and the court combined both of their appeals into one. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that U.S. courts can require companies to hand over documents, even if they are located in foreign countries. This decision is based on the idea of comity, which means that U.S. courts should help foreign courts as long as it’s not against U.S. law or policy. It also gives the district courts the power to make decisions about tricky issues that come up in international cases. For people who want help from a U.S. court for a legal matter in another country, there are four things they need to show the court before they can get help. If they meet those requirements, the court can decide whether to help and how to do it. A recent court case showed that the court can even make someone in the U.S. give evidence from outside the country, and can force them to do it. This law is really important for lawyers who work on international cases. These quotes from court cases show that it’s important for courts in different countries to respect each other’s decisions. This helps promote cooperation between countries and makes sure that court decisions are predictable and stable. Michael Tessitore is a lawyer who specializes in international legal cases, and Jason Del Rosso is his assistant. They wrote this article for the International Law Section.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/from-russia-with-love-11th-circuit-affirms-the-utility-of-28-u-s-c-1782-in-international-discovery/