ZF Automotive U. S., Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd.

In August 2017, Luxshare entered into a large-scale business deal with ZF Automotive US, and the deal closed in April 2018. Luxshare allegedly discovered that ZF fraudulently concealed certain material facts, inflating the purchase price.

The parties’ purchase agreement required that all disputes be settled by three arbitrators in Germany, and Luxshare intended to bring claims for the losses as a result of ZF’s allegedly wrongful conduct. However, it first sought to obtain discovery from ZF and its senior officers and asked a federal district court to compel discovery under 28 U.S.C. 1782(a).

The Court held that only a governmental or intergovernmental adjudicative body constitutes a “foreign or international tribunal” under 28 U-S-C §1782, and the bodies at issue in these cases do not qualify. Justice Barrett delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.

Credit: Oyez, LII Supreme Court Resources, Justia Supreme Court Center, available at: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/21-401