OPINION AND ORDER On November 28, 2023, Applicant Refinería de Cartagena S.A.S. (“Reficar”) filed an ex parte application pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1782 for leave to take discovery, in the form of subpoenas for documents and for a deposition, from Mason Capital Management, LLC (“Mason”) in connection with the restructuring proceedings of two subsidiaries of McDermott International, Inc. (“McDermott”), CB&I UK Limited (“CB&I UK”) and McDermott International Holdings B.V., f/k/a Comet II B.V., f/k/a Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (“CB&I N.V.,” and together with CB&I UK, the “CB&I Entities”). These proceedings are pending in England and the Netherlands. On December 4, 2023, Mason requested the opportunity to oppose Reficar’s application. The Court granted Mason’s request and set a briefing schedule, in accordance with which Mason filed its opposition on December 18, 2023, and Reficar filed its reply on December 26, 2023. On January 3, 2024, the Court granted Mason leave to file a sur-reply, which Mason filed the same day. Since its initial application, Reficar has considerably narrowed the scope of discovery that it is seeking. With Mason still disputing whether any discovery is warranted, as well as objecting to the scope of the discovery sought, the Court heard arguments on Reficar’s application on January 5, 2024. The parties were unable to reach agreement on a narrowed scope of discovery following the argument. For the reasons below, the Court concludes that each of the statutory requirements under Section 1782 has been satisfied. And in exercising its discretion under the statute, the Court grants Reficar leave to serve its document and deposition subpoenas on Mason as modified by the Court below. I. Factual Background1 A. The Arbitral Award, the Post-Award Proceeding, and the Chapter 15 Proceeding As mentioned, the instant application involves the CB&I Entities’ restructuring proceedings in England and the Netherlands. Reficar’s interest in these proceedings arises out of an award (the “Arbitration Award”) issued by an international arbitral tribunal on June 2, 2023, under the Arbitration Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, following arbitration proceedings that lasted seven years. Stenglein Decl.
2, 3, 4. Pursuant to the Arbitration Award, the CB&I Entities jointly owe Reficar approximately 937.5 million United States dollars — plus interest on that amount accruing from December 31, 2015, and legal and arbitration costs of approximately 58.7 million United States dollars. Id. 2; see also Schumann Decl. 4.2 The CB&I Entities have not paid the award. Stenglein Decl. 5. Instead, on June 8, 2023, they moved to vacate the award in an action in this District before the Honorable Gregory H. Woods; in response, Reficar has filed a cross-petition to confirm the award. Id.; see Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. v. Refinería de Cartagena S.A.S., No. 23 Civ. 4825 (GHW) (S.D.N.Y.), Dkts. 1, 37-38. On October 10, 2023, the CB&I Entities petitioned the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas for relief under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. Stenglein Decl. 7; see In re CB&I UK Ltd., No. 23-90795 (CML) (Bankr. S.D. Tex.) (“Chapter 15 Proceeding”), Dkt. 46. That same day, the Honorable David R. Jones, United States Bankruptcy Judge, who was covering for the judge presiding over the Chapter 15 Proceeding, see Bivens Decl., Exh. B at 2:8-10, the Honorable Christopher M. Lopez, granted the requested relief and entered an order pursuant to which the proceedings before Judge Woods were stayed. Stenglein Decl. 7; Chapter 15 Proceeding, Dkt. 46; see also Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V., No. 23 Civ. 4825 (GHW), Dkt. 73 (“In light of the stay order entered on October 10, 2023 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, this case is stayed pending further order of the Bankruptcy Court.”). On October 16, 2023, Reficar moved the bankruptcy court to lift its stay order “only to allow the” proceeding before Judge Woods “to conclude.” Chapter 15 Proceeding, Dkt. 99
