The case of the day, In re Republic of Ecuador (E.D. Cal. 2011), is yet another application for judicial assistance arising out of the Lago Agrio litigation (prior coverage here). Ecuador sought to serve a subpoena on Douglas M. Mackay, one of Chevron’s experts, who wrote reports that Chevron offered in the Lago Agrio litigation and in the BIT arbitration to rebut the plaintiffs’ environmental pollution claims. The court found the statutory prerequisites under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 were met and that the Intel factors were also satisfied. The decision is more or less unremarkable in light of the large number of similar decisions arising out of the Lago Agrio case that we’ve reviewed. The only point of particular interest is that the court rejected Chevron’s argument that the discovery should be stayed pending the BIT tribunal’s decision on the schedule and procedures for discovery in the arbitration.

Photo credit: Julien Gomba (license)