We’ve been following the Servotronics case, in which the Supreme Court was to consider whether a party to a private international arbitration may use 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to take evidence in the United States. I had my doubts about whether the Supreme Court would reach the merits of the issue do to a mootness problem. But the parties have told the Court that they expect to case to settle, so the Court has removed the case from the argument calendar. As a result, the circuit split will persist, at least for now.

The circuit split is well-developed and ready to be decided. But in light of all the academic interest and the amicus briefs, maybe it is not the worst thing in the world for the lower courts to have more time with the issue. Perhaps the next round of lower court decisions will shed more light on the issue.