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A federal court in Ohio held that while a party certainly does not have carte blanche privilege to use any discovery obtained through litigation for arbitration proceedings, certain discovery might be permitted in arbitration within the scope of the arbitral forum's rules.
In Jean v. Stanley Works, No. 1:04CV1904, 2007 WL 1039126 (N.D. Ohio Apr. 2, 2007), Jean argued that he should be permitted to use any discovery generated through litigation against Stanley Works in a parallel arbitration proceeding. Stanley Works, on the other hand, argued that the use of litigation materials would circumvent the arbitration provider's rules, particularly those governing the exchange of information.
The Court took a compromise position, noting that while Jean should not be entitled to use all discovered materials in arbitration, use of some of the material would be appropriate in some circumstances.
For example, the Court noted that Jean could certainly use discovery for "defensive purposes" in arbitration, such as impeachment of a witness or demonstrating inconsistencies between proffered testimony and sworn interrogatories by the defendant. As such, the Court granted the parties a ten-day window to agree upon a stipulated order governing the proper use of discovery in arbitration.
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