Four Pillars Enterprises Co., Ltd v. Avery Dennison Corporation

Appellant Four Pillars Enterprises Co., Ltd., a Taiwanese corporation, applied to the district court for a discovery order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 , which authorizes the district court to order the production of documents or testimony for use in litigation in foreign courts. Four Pillars sought various documents and depositions from Avery Dennison Corporation for use in civil cases that Four Pillars was pursuing against Avery Dennison in the courts of the People’s Republic of China and in the Republic of China — Taiwan. A magistrate judge granted Four Pillars the right to serve three of its document requests, but denied all the remaining requests. Four Pillars sought reconsideration, which was denied by the district court. Four Pillars now appeals. We affirm the orders of the magistrate judge and district court.

BACKGROUND

Both Four Pillars and Avery Dennison produce and sell adhesive tape and labels. Several years ago, they apparently considered a joint venture in Asia, but the relationship there-after became highly adversarial. As the court below noted, Four Pillar’s request for documents “arises against the backdrop of nasty litigation between the parties concerning…