Zveme vás na přednášku: U.S. Discovery and Issues Arising Under Foreign Law (Jayson M. Macyda)

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U.S. Discovery and Issues Arising
Under Foreign Law

Jayson M. Macyda

General Counsel - Kyko Global Inc. and Affiliates

14. listopadu 2024 ve 14 hod.

Právnická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, místnost č. 117

U.S. Discovery and Issues Arising Under Foreign Law
Jayson M. Macyda Esq.

The legal process of obtaining evidence in the United States – known as “discovery” – is appealing to many foreign litigants due to its liberal application in civil proceedings and is generally considered the most open-ended among common law jurisdictions in the world. The U.S. federal rules of civil procedure permit a party to obtain information in advance of trial by conducting out-of-court oral examination of witnesses, submitting written requests for the production of documents, submitting written requests to admit factual allegations and answer written questions under oath, and to compel third-parties to produce information within their knowledge, custody, or control. To a large extent, cases are won and lost based on the outcome of the discovery process.

Yet, it is not judicially supervised. The lawyers are responsible for undertaking the process themselves and only bring discovery matters for judicial review if issues arise. Conflict is inherent.

This lecture first explores the modes of discovery and their limitations, both legal and practical, under the U.S. federal rules of civil procedure, and then addresses the interplay between these rules and the 1970 Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters regarding the discovery procedure to be utilized to adjudicate disputes involving foreign jurisdictions. In particular, the role of international comity when assessing which body of law to apply and the United States’ view of so-called “blocking statutes” – a foreign country’s law that would, if applied, preclude discovery of information in a U.S. court proceeding.

In sum, this lecture provides attendees with a general working knowledge of the domestic and foreign discovery matters that often arise in the U.S. federal district courts regarding the adjudication of civil disputes.